Carson gets major wingnut cred for several reasons:

1) He’s Black - Sounds silly, but conservatives are all about MBFing their apparent racism and saying: “Hey, check this out! We’re cool with black people!”

2) He actually IS a Doctor. A LEGIT Doctor. Unlike Rand Paul who licensed himself, Carson is an honest to goodness neurosurgeon and he’s had a lot of success in that field. To Conservatives that means he’s a highly intelligent man who knows what he’s doing.

3) He’s good in conversation. To conservatives he comes off as a well read, well spoken voice that’s something of a softer alternative to a blowhard like Donald Trump.

4) He’s got the religious right ground game down pat. Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz are in the same arena when it comes to religion but Carson is center stage. Trump has largely ignored religion in his campaign and so long as he continues to do so, it’s advantage Carson.