It seems that everywhere former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina goes, the crowds go wild.
Two weeks ago, the 2016 presidential candidate was in Iowa to speak at the state GOP’s Lincoln Dinner. She wasn’t the only 2016 candidate who spoke, but she was the only one for whom, when her mic was cut off after her 10 minutes of allotted speaking time were up, the crowd was noticeably upset.
“She was like a fireball,” dinner guest Tanya Manatt, told the Des Moines Register. “She had a lot of energy, and she’s not intimidated.”
“She left us wanting more,” said another.
“She was very confident, probably one of the strongest speakers,” guest Rick Haas told Politico.
Philip Rucker of the Washington Post said on Twitter that Fiorina received the “loudest applause of the night.”
A similar story unfolded at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference last week. Republican Chase Condrey tweeted about Fiorina: “just watched the SRLC and you have definitely sparked my interest in your candidacy. The Young GOP wants leaders like you.”
Another attendee, Richard Morgan, said Fiorina had the “best speech” of the conference. Fiorina ended her speech to a standing ovation, according to numerous other conference-goers.
Fiorina is also gaining fans from her clever media appearances, where she trolls her hosts and takes on tough questions with poise.
But despite wowing crowds and television viewers over the past month, Fiorina’s poll numbers aren’t budging. In the RealClearPolitics polling average, she’s tied for last place — behind even Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who hasn’t announced. Fiorina is barely breaking 1 percent in the polls.
So what gives? Everywhere Fiorina goes, she’s the crowd favorite. She’s proving every day that she can and will take on presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and she’s taking every opportunity she can to spread her message of limited government and personal responsibility (and we’re so far not sick of that!). Yet somehow, that attention isn’t moving the polls.
The answer, according to Fiorina’s spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores, is that people just aren’t tuned in to 2016 yet. And with the first Republican debate just a couple months away, Fiorina’s plan, according to Flores, is to “continue to meet voters, speak at events, and answer questions about why Carly is the best leader for the White House.”
Fiorina has a long way to go to be eligible for that debate (she has to poll among the top 10 candidates), but she’s so far shown that she’s willing to put in the time and effort to change hearts and minds.
