Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina now says the chance of her running for president in 2016 is “higher than 90 percent,” and she’ll make and announce her decision in the next month or two.
The Republican told “Fox News Sunday” that her business background — the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company — gives her “a deep understanding of how the economy really works.” And though HP’s board forced her out in 2005 after the company’s stock value declined, she said she’s proud nonetheless of having piloted and restructured the company through the dot-com bubble’s collapse.
Fiorina, 60, who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2010, moved from California to the Washington, D.C., area some years ago and for now is the only woman in the field of potential GOP candidates. She has been visiting early primary states, giving speeches at conservative gatherings, and wooing contributors and staff for several months. With polls showing Fiorina has a steep uphill climb, observers say she may be setting herself up as the eventual nominee’s running mate.
A CNN poll conducted in mid-March found Fiorina trailing 13 other potential GOP candidates among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents; a McClatchy/Marist poll conducted at the beginning of the month found her in 11th place.
“I admire her for her self-confidence,” said Larry Gerston, a San Jose State professor emeritus and political expert.
Fiorina brings “certain credentials” to the table as she floats her name, Gerston said — a background in business, a knowledge of national politics, a run (albeit an unsuccessful one) for public office, and her status as a female voice in a party reputed for “being somewhat disparaging toward women.”
Yet she lost a statewide campaign in the state where she’s best known and now trails a deep bench of potential Republican candidates who are better known, he said.
“It’s largely at this point an uphill battle,” Gerston said. “And if she’s declaring early, there’s a greater opportunity she’ll flame out early, so it’s a gamble on her part.”
Josh Richman covers politics. Follow him at Twitter.com/Josh_Richman. Read the Political Blotter at IBAbuzz.com/politics.
