Ben Carson Campaign Manager, Communications Director Quit

Ben Carson participates in CNBC's "Your Money, Your Vote: The Republican Presidential Debate" live from the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, Colorado Wednesday, October 28th

WASHINGTON — (CNN) Ben Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett and communications director Doug Watts have resigned.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has struggled in the polls since October when he was rivaling Donald Trump for the lead in the Republican presidential race.

“Barry Bennett and I have resigned from the Carson campaign effective immediately,” Watts said in a statement. “We respect the candidate and we have enjoyed helping him go from far back in the field to top tier status.”

Watts added: “We are proud of our efforts for Dr Carson and we wish him and his campaign the best of luck.”

Carson’s campaign has raised more than $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, his campaign said Wednesday, although it would not say how much cash it has on hand.

The resignations were first reported by the Des Moines Register.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2015 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

(Photo: CNN)

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