Is Carly Fiorina the next big Republican sensation?
The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard–and the only woman currently running for the Republican nomination for President–has been mired with low poll numbers since her May 4 campaign launch.
But that may all be changing–thanks to two new national polls that show Fiorina quickly gaining momentum and rising in the ranks.
Over the weekend, two new polls had her well into the top 10.
A PPP poll put her in 6th place, tied with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) at 4% of the vote. And an Economist/YouGov poll placed her in 7th place, with 3% of the vote–tied with Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR.)
The uptick in polls comes at a time when Fiorina needs it most–as Fox News decides who qualifies for the first Republican debate in less than two weeks.
Fox has announced that, because of the large Republican field, only the top 10 candidates in national polls will participate in their prime time debate. The remaining candidates will participate in a debate earlier that evening, where the audience–and the prestige–is virtually guaranteed to be smaller.
Even as Fiorina attracted attention in Iowa, New Hampshire, and the national media–and gained notoriety for her gloves-off attacking of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton–she continually ran at the back of the pack. These polls show her passing better-known and often better-funded opponents. If her numbers continue to hold, she’d be guaranteed a spot in the debate–putting her in front of a large audience.
With her recent momentum, deep-pocketed Republican donors are starting to take notice. The upcoming “Koch seminar,” a gathering of some of the biggest Republican donors sponsored by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, announced that Fiorina would make their short list of candidates invited–along with fellow Republican presidential contenders Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz.
