Carly Fiorina to launch 2016 presidential campaign May 4

All reports indicated that Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, was leaning toward launch a presidential bid with the intent to seek the Republican nomination in 2016. Now the news has become official with word that Fiorina will launch her campaign on May 4, 2015, with an announcement she’ll post online.

Report from the Wall Street Journal:

Carly Fiorina plans to launch her presidential campaign on May 4, in an online announcement that dispenses with the pageantry that has become de rigueur in 2016 White House runs.

Instead, Mrs. Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., will formally declare her Republican campaign online and hold a conference call for the national press, according to a person with knowledge of the campaign’s plans.

The lack of fanfare stands in contrast to GOP candidates who already have declared. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida held choreographed events to officially launch their 2016 efforts. Mrs. Fiorina won’t hold a public event the day she begins her campaign.

It will also put Mrs. Fiorina at odds with two other GOP candidates announcing their 2016 plans that week. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson also plans to declare his candidacy on May 4, but he is planning to do so at an event in Detroit, where he was born. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has an event planned the next day in Hope, Ark., his hometown. Detroit and Hope will be mere stage sets for Messrs. Carson and Huckabee—both men now live in Florida.

And instead of immediately heading to states with early nominating contests, Mrs. Fiorina will be in New York when her campaign formally launches. The former tech CEO is scheduled to speak at Techcrunch’s Disrupt NY 2015 conference on May 5. She has a new book due out that day and is expected to sit for cable TV interviews as well.

As noted, Ben Carson is also launching his campaign on May 4 with an announcement from Detroit. The next day, on May 5, we’re expecting an announcement from Mike Huckabee who will deliver a speech in Hope, Arkansas.

Fiorina has an uphill battle to win the nomination but she does seem to captivate crowds, such as her appearances this year at CPAC, and the Iowa Freed Summit back in January. She has spoken with intent to take the “gender card” away from Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.