Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina Launches Senate Bid

San Diego, CA (AHN) – Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who served as campaign adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in last year’s presidential race, officially began her campaign for the Senate on Wednesday with a concession to critics who had questioned her spotty voting record.

The 55-year-old launched her 2010 bid with an op-ed with the Orange County Register that said, “Admittedly, I have not always been engaged in the electoral process, and I should have been. For many years I felt disconnected from the decisions made in Washington and, to be honest, really didn’t think my vote mattered because I didn’t have a direct line of sight from my vote to a result.”

“I realize that thinking was wrong,” she added. “As I grew throughout my career, beginning as a secretary and eventually becoming a CEO, I saw how government impacted business… I now understand, in a very real way, that the decisions made by the Senate impact every family and every business, of any size, in America.”

Fiorina also issued a volley against the incumbent she is seeking to unseat, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), a five-term congresswoman and three-term senator who is currently Chief Deputy Whip and chairperson of the Senate Environment Committee.

“Does California have the representation we deserve? The clear answer is no,” Fiorina wrote. “Barbara Boxer has been a senator for almost 18 years. During that time, she’s only gotten three laws enacted – naming a river in Virginia, a courthouse in Fresno, and bringing bridge repair money to the Bay Area, where she is from. One piece of real work in 18 years isn’t much of a track record.”

Fiorina had long been expected to throw her hat in the race, but she underwent surgery for breast cancer in March. In September, she launched an exploratory committee amid criticisms from State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, a conservative who launched his campaign in April, that she had voted only in a handful of the 18 state and national elections held since 2000.

DeVore, who previously served as an aide to former Rep. Chris Cox and as Irvine city commissioner, on Wednesday said in a statement, “Fiorina’s arrival means Republican voters have a clear choice in this primary: between an establishment-picked, big-government moderate with lots of cash but little experience in public life — and a volunteer-supported, proven conservative with a long record of civic engagement.”

The 47-year-old DeVore has received the endorsement of the Senate Conservative Fund and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), while Fiorina has the backing of five former California Republican Party chairmen.

A Standford University graduate, Fiorina served as campaign surrogate and economic adviser to McCain. Despite having caused controversy by saying she “doesn’t think John McCain could run a major corporation,” she was said to have been shortlisted for Republican vice presidential nominee.

She is a recipient of the 2002 Appeal of Conscience Award and the 2004 Leadership Award from the Private Sector Council. She was ousted out of HP in 2005, a year after she was appointed by the White House to the U.S. Space Commission.