Ben Carson’s ride to the pinnacle of Republican politics has been relatively smooth — until questions this week about his rise from the streets of Detroit to prominence as a world-renowned neurosurgeon — but his Republican rivals, save Donald Trump, are holding back on attacks over his biography.

“God Almighty, I pray to God my candidate doesn’t do it,” said a senior strategist to one Republican campaign, who like most operatives interviewed declined to publicly challenge a candidate with such high favorability ratings.

Numerous 2016 operatives said their candidates would be hands-off when it comes to questioning Carson’s resume and his claims of having received a “full scholarship” to West Point when he never applied or was admitted to the military academy.

“All a candidate would be doing is engendering ill will among people who like Ben Carson,” a top operative for a second campaign said. “That’s why I’m not on the record right now.”