Ben Carson hires senior political adviser

Ben Carson has hired a senior adviser for his political team ahead of a potential run for president in 2016.

Mike Murray, the president and CEO of TMA Direct, a direct marketing firm, will serve as a senior adviser to Carson.

{mosads}Murray will oversee small-dollar grassroots fundraising for Carson, which could be an area where the retired neurosurgeon will excel. Carson has already hauled in millions of small-dollar donations through direct marketing efforts and a “Draft Carson” campaign.

Murray has also founded a political action committee called American Legacy. Carson served as the face of the group’s campaign against ObamaCare.

Murray adds to Carson’s expanding political operation. Carson has a likely campaign manager and finance director, a leadership PAC that has collected millions of dollars, and a movement to draft him as a candidate with a presence in all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

He’s near the top of many national polls and could be a force in early-voting states like Iowa and South Carolina.

Still, many Republican strategists are skeptical that his campaign is built to compete for the long haul. They say his appeal may be limited to those grassroots voters that are already backing him.