Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who briefly led the Republican presidential race before his campaign began an extended public implosion, will tell his supporters in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he does not see a “path forward” and will not attend Thursday’s debate in Detroit, according to two Republicans familiar with his plans.

Carson, however, will not formally suspend his campaign. Instead, the Republicans said, he has decided to make a speech about his political future on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, just outside of Washington.

This is Carson’s full statement:

The benefit of this “no path forward without suspending my campaign” strategy is that the Carson fundraising machine can continue to run, just in case a “way forward” can be found. And people can be kept on payroll. It also means that his backers can continue to vote for him he officially remains in the race, you know, just in case a “way forward” can be found.