Candy Carson

Candy Carson and Ben Carson with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush in 2008 Lacena Carson (née Rustin; born August 19, 1953) is an American author and educator. She is married to former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, with whom she co-founded the Carson Scholars Fund in 1994. Alongside her husband, she is the co-author of four books. During his 2016 run for President of the United States, Carson was active on the campaign trail by conducting live interviews and television appearances.

Early life and education Born Lacena Rustin on August 19, 1953, in Royal Oak Township, Michigan. Carson was raised in the Episcopal Church by her mother. She graduated from Ferndale High School. Carson met her future husband, also a Detroit native, in the 1970s when both were students at Yale University.

A former concert violinist, Carson performed the national anthem during her husband's campaign kick-off. She has been a conductor for the University of Maryland Medical Center Chamber Players.

Career In the Baltimore area, Carson worked in real estate, trust administration and insurance.

Carson is the facilitator of the scholarship fund.

Personal life Carson and her husband married in 1975. Together, they have three sons: Murray, Benjamin Jr., and Royceon, as well as several grandchildren. In line with her religious beliefs, Carson is a vegetarian.

In 1981 Carson became pregnant with twins before miscarrying in the fifth month of her pregnancy. After this experience, when she became pregnant again in the following year, Carson was placed on bed rest by her doctor after the fourth month.

She was portrayed by Leslie Jones on the Saturday March 10, 2018, episode of Saturday Night Live.

Expenditure controversy

Carson received criticism for reportedly pressuring her husband's staff to spend up to $31,000 on a dining set in his Housing and Urban Development office in late 2017. This was discovered after Helen Foster, a former HUD chief administrative officer, filed a complaint alleging that she was demoted from her position because she refused to spend more than the legal $5,000 limit for office redecoration. The HUD inspector general found no evidence of undue influence by Mrs. Carson on any staffer. However, the Government Accountability Office ruled that, in making unauthorized purchases of a dishwasher and furniture for Ben Carson's office, HUD violated the law.