Former Fox News contributor Ben Carson used the network to announce that he has launched an exploratory committee to run for president in 2016, following years of Fox News touting Carson as a rising star and potential presidential candidate.

On the March 3 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, Ben Carson announced that he is launching an exploratory committee to see whether “me running for president is a viable thing.”  

Carson became a conservative media darling after using his 2013 National Prayer Breakfast speech to attack President Obama and the Affordable Care Act. Following his speech, Fox hosts fawned over Carson calling him “fantastic,” and “a star.” In an interview about the speech, Fox's Sean Hannity said that he'd vote for Carson for president “in a heartbeat.”

In October, 2013, Fox hired Carson as a contributor. Carson used this elevated platform to attack the Obama administration and defend his extreme rhetoric. During his tenure on Fox, the network continued to promote Carson as a presidential contender repeatedly asking whether he would run for president. During a May 2014 appearance on Hannity, Carson claimed he was seeing “record crowds” with people asking if he'd be running for president. A lead story on The O'Reilly Factor in August 2014 was about the “rumors swirling” that Carson might run. 

Carson joins a growing list of contributors and hosts who have used the Fox platform to gain recognition and free advertising to boost their political ambitions.