If history is any lesson, Ben Carson can expect a warm reception in Denver next month when the secretary of Housing and Urban Development addresses the Western Conservative Summit.

Tickets are on sale for the July 12 session that features Carson, as well as admission to hear more than 40 other conservative politicians, pundits and academics (plus possibly some Democrats). 

Carson was the winner of the summit’s presidential straw poll in 2014 and 2015. (Donald Trump got 15 votes to Carson’s 224 in 2014. Hillary Clinton received 48 votes.)

Carson proved to be an unsuccessful presidential candidate, but he is one of the few Trump cabinet members who have lasted throughout the president’s tenure.

The Western Conservative Summit is July 12-13 at the Colorado Convention Center. It is billed annually as one of the nation’s biggest gatherings of conservatives “to celebrate and advance faith, family, and freedom for our future.”

“We are honored that Secretary Carson will join us for the Western Conservative Summit.” Jeff Hunt, chairman of the summit and executive director of the Lakewood-based Centennial Institute, which puts on the annual event.

Hunt also is the vice president of public policy at Colorado Christian University, where the Centennial Institute resides.

“In the past, he has also visited the campus of Colorado Christian University and interacted with our students,” he said. “It is a strategic priority of Colorado Christian University to impact our culture in support of the sanctity of life and compassion for the poor. These are principles that Secretary Carson has championed both as a neurosurgeon and now as a Cabinet member.

“We are grateful for his leadership at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are eager to hear about innovative ideas, such as opportunity zones, to improve the lives of Americans.”