GOP candidate Ben Carson speaks at state Capitol

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson meets with supporters after his rally at the state Capitol in Little Rock on Thursday, Aug. 27. 2015.
Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson meets with supporters after his rally at the state Capitol in Little Rock on Thursday, Aug. 27. 2015.

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson spoke on the steps of the Arkansas Capitol on Thursday, saying that as a Washington, D.C., outsider, his platform is one that can reach all Americans.

In the coming election, he said, the country must look beyond the Republican and Democrat labels in search of the right candidate.

"If you want a candidate who agrees with you on everything, go look in the mirror because that's about the only place you're going to find it," he joked to the crowd.

Carson said if the country works together instead of creating divides, "that power that we have is virtually unimaginable."

"All of those people that are trying to drive wedges between us — they are the enemy," Carson said, adding that the problems the U.S. faces are collective problems not based on a single political party.

Carson also said faith plays a significant role in the U.S. and shouldn't be tampered with when it comes to protections for religious freedom.

"[The U.S. Constitution] doesn't say freedom from religion. It says freedom of religion," he said. "If we lose that and if we continue to throw away the values and principles that made us great for the sake of political correctness, we will go down as quickly as we rose to the pinnacle."

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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