Carly Fiorina is blazing out of the gate in her opening statement, delivering backhanded compliments to her two male rivals and a not-subtle swipe at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for her husband’s infidelities.
She first said she is “honored” to be onstage with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, “two former Iowa caucus winners.” The clear implication: Neither man’s presidential ambitions have survived the nomination process, leaving them on the 2016 undercard stage in the lower tier of candidates.
Then she took a shot at the only other woman in the race, Clinton, the former secretary of state and wife of former President Bill Clinton.
Fiorina sniped, “Unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband.”
The debate between three of the lowest-polling GOP presidential candidates is underway at the North Charleston Coliseum. Onstage are former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Not appearing: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who was dropped from the prime-time lineup at 9 p.m. and refused to appear on the earlier forum.
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