Republican Carly Fiorina stopped in Concord for the first leg of her four-day campaign tour in the Granite State.
On Tuesday the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard mingled with state representatives and business leaders at The Barley House in downtown Concord.
Fiorina has never held political office and lost a bid for a U.S. Senate seat in California by more than 10 points in 2010, but says her executive background makes her a strong candidate.
“I think it takes someone who understands the economy, how it actually works,” she said, as well as someone with executive experience. Someone she says who can "make a tough call in a tough time when there are high stakes."
She also touted her international experience.
“So the truth is I know more world leaders on the stage today than anyone else running with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton. And I didn’t do photo-ops with them. I sat in their office and talked business, charity and issues that were of importance to them.”
But early polls show Fiorina claiming just over one percent of GOP voters.
Fiorina, who is the only Republican woman considering running, also took aim at democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for making it a race about gender.
“Hillary Clinton desperately wants to run a campaign on being the first woman president. She desperately wants to run a campaign on the war on women, and I think Hillary Clinton should have to run her campaign on her own track record or lack thereof.”
Fiorina is scheduled make 9 stops across the state including the Seacoast, North Haverhill and Beford. She says she expects to announce her presidential candidacy as early as next week.
