Ben Carson making May 4 announcement in Detroit | CNN Politics

Race to 2016

Getty Images

Now playing

01:53

Is Ben Carson gearing up for 2016 race?

electioneering explainer danny cevallos orig_00001425.jpg

Now playing

01:13

States can actually limit free speech on Election Day

2016 campaigns in memoriam origwx bw_00000127.jpg

Now playing

03:00

2016 presidential campaigns in memoriam

Getty Images

Now playing

02:10

They made it to the White House despite scandals

history of the october surprise foreman ac pkg_00005811.jpg

Getty Images

Now playing

02:14

The history of the October surprise

Now playing

04:02

36 years of election nights on CNN

Now playing

01:15

Watch 9 elections get called on CNN in under one minute

hillary clinton rally daytona beach fbi investigation sot_00002801.jpg

CNN

Now playing

00:57

Clinton calls FBI director's actions unprecedented

trump voter id podesta fact check origwx bw_00004624.jpg

Now playing

02:16

Fact check: Trump on undocumented immigrants and voting

hillary clinton rally time lapse origwx bw_00004417.jpg

Now playing

01:21

Hillary Clinton's historic night in time-lapse

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 23: Anthony Weiner, a leading candidate for New York City mayor, stands with his wife Huma Abedin during a press conference on July 23, 2013 in New York City. Weiner addressed news of new allegations that he engaged in lewd online conversations with a woman after he resigned from Congress for similar previous incidents. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

John Moore/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

Now playing

02:01

Clinton's history with Anthony Weiner

Many North Carolina voters remain undecided in upcoming presidential election_00001405.jpg

CNN

Now playing

02:15

Some North Carolina voters hesitant to pick a candidate

joe biden hillary clinton election intv sot smerconish _00000000.jpg

CNN

Now playing

00:46

Biden: I thought I could beat Hillary Clinton

cnnee pkg rodriguez clinton global iniciative hillary emails_00002301.jpg

Now playing

02:47

Hillary Clinton's explanations of her email saga

The Guardian

Now playing

01:17

Gary Johnson snaps at reporter

Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and US Vice President Joe Biden acknowledge the crowd at Riverfront Sports athletic facility on August 15, 2016 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Mark Makela/Getty Images North America

Now playing

01:26

Biden on Clinton's Secretary of State list?

Washington CNN —

Ben Carson will make a major announcement on May 4 in Detroit, his campaign tells CNN, setting the date and location for what’s expected to be the launch of his presidential bid.

The announcement will take place at the Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, and will be ticketed, but the rest of the details — the exact time, and how many tickets Carson will distribute to supporters — have yet to be hammered out, a spokeswoman said.

Indeed, the substance of the announcement itself, spokeswoman Deana Bass said, is still up in the air.

READ: Marco Rubio announces presidential bid

“He will make an announcement. But he’s still very much in the exploratory phase, so he hasn’t made a decision yet,” she said.

If Carson does kick off a presidential bid, as expected, his announcement would add a political newcomer and African-American candidate to the rapidly growing Republican field.

This month the presidential race kicked off in earnest with three freshmen GOP senators — Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida — launching their bids, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton becoming the first Democrat to make her presidential campaign official.

The retired neurosurgeon has been traveling the nation over the past six months, giving paid speeches and meeting with supporters to gauge interest in a bid. He recently traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire, and spoke last weekend at the National Rifle Association’s meeting in Tennessee.

Carson’s relative political inexperience, however, hasn’t turned him away from the campaign — if he runs, he’ll look to make it an asset, framing himself as a common-sense alternative to the broken policies of Washington politicians.

And recent polls indicate it’s too early to count him out. In the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Carson surveys right in the middle of the potential GOP field, ahead of more seasoned or better-known GOP contenders like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee or Rubio, and he took fifth place with 9% support in the last CNN/ORC survey, conducted in March.

Still, that’s a marked decline from late February, when he was polling in the top three of the pack, indicating he still has some work to do in proving his credibility with voters.