Even while she’s insisting there’s no deal in place, buzz is growing that Carly Fiorina could wind up on the Republican presidential ticket as the running mate, provided Donald Trump isn’t the presidential nominee.
Fiorina won applause for some strong debate performances earlier in the election cycle but she didn’t perform well in the early contests. After pulling 2 percent in Iowa and 4 percent in New Hampshire, Fiorina suspended her presidential bid.
Before the Florida primary, Fiorina threw her support to Ted Cruz and she’s been one of his chief surrogates on the campaign trail. In the final days before the Wisconsin primary, Fiorina has been crossing the state, trying to rally Republicans behind Cruz.
National Review reported this week that Cruz and Fiorina are both being asked about adding her to the ticket. Fiorina insists she didn’t cut a deal with Cruz to end up as his running mate but she didn’t close the door on running for vice president.
Fiorina brings some strengths to the ticket. If Cruz or some other elected officials ends up as the presidential nominee, Fiorina, who has never held elected office, can present herself as an outsider to balance the ticket. Fiorina also could help the GOP appeal to women even as Hillary Clinton is expected to be the Democratic nominee. Based on her performances in the early primary debates, Fiorina would certainly be an asset when she and the Democratic VP nominee square off in October.
But Fiorina also poses a number of challenges if she is added to the ticket. She famously clashed with Trump in the fall and would not appease his supporters if a contested convention goes with another candidate. Nor has Fiorina has ever proven herself a good candidate despite the strong debate performances. Despite 2010 being a good year for Republicans across the nation, Fiorina got blown out when she ran for the Senate against Barbara Boxer.
Nor does Fiorina have a geographic base. That’s hurt Republicans in recent years as Paul Ryan failed to help Mitt Romney carry Wisconsin while Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney hailed from states that don’t carry much weight in the Electoral College and Jack Kemp couldn’t deliver anywhere for Bob Dole. Fiorina left California after her failed Senate bid and she isn’t well established enough in her new base of Virginia to help deliver the Old Dominion.
Fiorina can provide some balance to Cruz of course but the risk of angering Trump and his supporters--and they would be alienated if a contested convention ends up choosing somebody with less delegates or popular support--is too great to make adding her to the ticket a slam dunk. Despite her series of strong debate performances, Fiorina poses plenty of challenges if she ends up on the ticket.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
