Competing with ten other Republican candidates on stage for the second Republican debate on September 15, the sole woman on the stage, Carly Fiorina performed remarkably well. A Morning Consult poll after the debate showed Fiorina’s support rise from 3% to 10%.

For those who may not know her, Fiorina formerly served as a CEO for Hewlett-Packard (HP), a large technology firm. Consistently throughout her campaign, she has emphasized her journey from a secretary to a CEO, saying that such a thing is only possible in the United States. Although Fiorina has never held public office, she ran for the U.S. Senate as a representative of California in 2010. There, she lost to a Democratic incumbent by 10 percent of the vote. However, despite her never holding an office, Carly Fiorina has been active politically, previously working in John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and later working at a branch of the CIA.

Generally, analysts view Fiorina as a strong candidate. Her calm, composed manner and her polished way of attacking her opponents drew admiration from the audience during the debate. Her status as a Washington outsider could work well for her. In addition, whether she wins the election or not, the Republican Party views her as key to attracting women voters away from the Democratic Party.

Sahiba Madan ’18 predicts, “Carly Fiorina will attract women voters away from the Democratic Party because many are repulsed by the scandals surrounding Clinton and her lack of honesty.” Many analysts predict that even if Fiorina does not win the election, she will continue to play a major role in the party as either a vice presidential nominee or as an appointment in the new administration.

Despite Fiorina’s appeal, some of the decisions she made as CEO could haunt her in this election. As CEO, Fiorina at one point oversaw 30,000 layoffs; this statistic may not resonate well with voters despite Fiorina’s success in other aspects of managing the company. This issue is what may have caused her to lose the 2010 Senate race in California. Wei Wen’ 16 feels that “her inexperience in political office and her controversial role in her former company all put doubt on her ability to be our nation’s leader.”

Despite Carly Fiorina’s strong performance in both GOP debates, the sincerity of her views remains yet to be seen. Wen further weighed in on the candidate remarking, “Carly Fiorina is just another seemingly moralistic politician that will flop when actually in office. Her attack on Planned Parenthood and defense of immigrants in the second G.O.P debate was basically a show to win political support. Trump was already receiving fire for his xenophobic views; Carly just used the issues to juxtapose herself from the controversial Republican.”

Time will tell whether Carly Fiorina’s persona and views will resound well with voters in the upcoming 2016 presidential election.