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| Dr.Ben Carson |
Two of Republican White House hopeful Ben Carson's top aides have quit as the former poll leader's numbers continue to slide.
The retired neurosurgeon lost campaign manager Barry Bennett and communications director Doug Watts on Thursday morning.
Mr Bennett said he left because Mr Carson was taking more advice from his business manager, Armstrong Williams, than his paid campaign staff.
He questioned Mr Carson's readiness to be president, accusing the candidate of becoming Mr Williams' "script reader".
Mr 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."
The turmoil could not come at a worse time with the crucial first vote looming on 1 February in the state of Iowa.
The Carson camp released a statement describing the staff changes as "enhancements" that "will shift the campaign into higher gear".
In the race for the November 2016 election, Mr Carson has sunk to fourth after a lengthy reign in second place behind Donald Trump.
Despite his lagging poll numbers, his campaign on Wednesday announced a fourth-quarter fundraising haul of $23m, with 600,000 unique donors.
The campaign meltdown is the latest sign of trouble for the political outsider.
In November, Mr Carson's top adviser on terrorism and national security said no one had been able to get "one iota of intelligent information" from the candidate about the Middle East.
Some of his views have also raised eyebrows, including his belief that the pyramids were built to store grain, that the Holocaust could have been prevented if Jews had guns and that Obamacare is worse than slavery.
In the race for the Democratic White House nomination, Hillary Clinton's rival, Martin O'Malley, suffered a blow on Thursday as he failed to qualify for Ohio's primary ballot.
He fell more than 200 valid signatures short of the 1,000 needed to make the 15 March primary when the party's voters will choose who they want to run for president.
O'Malley spokeswoman Haley Morris said the campaign was exploring its options.
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