Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has been traveling across the nation on a speaking tour to promote her new political action committee, which is aimed at getting more women involved in politics, but it had some talking about a potential 2016 campaign,
reports The National Journal.
"People ask me that a lot, so if you get asked that a lot you have to think about it — you have to consider it," Fiorina told National Journal. "I'm flattered by the question and I have to consider it."
It is clear, however, that Fiorina wants to change the face of the Republican Party. In Iowa over the weekend, Fiorina told an audience that what is needed "are different policies and different leaders,”
reports The Iowa Republican.
Earlier this year, Fiorina, who also is chairwoman of the American Conservative Union Foundation, launched the Unlocking Potential Project, which already is working in states with competitive Senate races,
reports The Washington Post.
According to its website, the group seeks to form coalitions of primarily conservative women to "message directly to women in key battleground states" and "empower women to speak boldly and clearly about the value of our conservative principles in politics."
This is not Fiorina's first foray into politics having unsuccessfully campaigning to unseat California Sen. Barbara Boxer. She was not the only former CEO on the ticket that year.
Meg Whitman, the former e-Bay chief executive, also unsuccessfully challenged a big-name Democrat — onetime Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown who was seeking to return to the governor's mansion. During the campaign, she spent an estimated $141 million of her own money on the campaign, but Whitman was unable to overcome a controversy surrounding her allegedly hiring an illegal alien,
according to CNN.
While both Silicon Valley ex-CEOs failed in their bid for political office, more women from the tech sector are getting involved in politics as candidates and as donors,
reports Politico.
Georgia Godfrey, chief of staff to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, says there has been a move in recent years by those in the tech industry to become more involved in politics and lobbying on relevant issues.
"There has definitely been a shift. They are starting to realize if they want to have a foot in the conversation, they’ve got to engage and they’ve got to do it proactively and not just when things are going to be discussed. They have to have a steady drumbeat,” she tells Politico.
In fact, tech giants spent $141 million on lobbying in 2013 and $71 million to date in 2014,
according to The New York Times.
Two of the biggest donors on Fortune's Most Powerful Women's list — Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg both sent 99 percent of their contributions over the last ten years to Democrats,
reports Fortune.
The tech industry as a whole has evenly divided its donations,
reports The Miami Herald.
Since 2001, the technology sector has contributed $365 million to Democrats, excluding presidential candidates, and $312 million to Republicans.
And, notes Politico, more women are landing positions in trade associations and lobbying firms that represent tech interests, including Victoria Espinel at BSA, the Software Alliance, Meredith Attwell Baker of CTIA, and Nuala O’Connor of the Center for Democracy & Technology.
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