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| FILE - In this April 18, 2015 file photo, Carly Fiorina speaks at the Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua, N.H. The former technology executive formally entered the 2016 presidential race on Monday. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Former technology executive Carly Fiorina and retired
neurosurgeon Ben Carson joined the rapidly expanding 2016 Republican
presidential class on Monday, casting themselves as political outsiders
in underdog campaigns, eager to challenge the elite of both parties.
In
announcements separated by both geography and style, the two also
highlighted the possibility that they can help the GOP expand its appeal
among an increasingly diverse electorate. Fiorina is likely to be the
only prominent woman to seek the GOP nomination, with Carson the only
African-American.
"I'm probably never going to
be politically correct because I'm not a politician," Carson declared
at an announcement speech in his native Detroit, where he was raised by a
single mother in what he called dire poverty. To be sure, he's a
politician now. But not, he said, like the others.
"It's
time for people to rise up and take the government back," said Carson, a
favorite of the GOP's tea party wing. "The political class won't like
me saying things like that. The political class comes from both
parties."
Fiorina, former chief executive of
Hewlett-Packard Co., chose social media and a nationally broadcast
morning TV network show to launch her campaign. She is already
laser-focused on Hillary Rodham Clinton.
As the only woman in the GOP
field, she sees herself as uniquely positioned to go after the dominant
Democrat in the 2016 race.
"She is the
personification of the professional political class," Fiorina said after
releasing an announcement video that begins with an image of Clinton.
Earlier, on ABC's "Good Morning America," Fiorina lashed out at Clinton
for what she called a lack of transparency, including the use of a
private email server while Clinton was secretary of state and foreign
donations to her family's charitable foundation.
"I have a lot of admiration for Hillary Clinton, but she clearly is not trustworthy," Fiorina said.
Fiorina
and Carson both begin the race as longshots in a campaign expected to
feature several seasoned politicians, among them former Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas
Sen. Ted Cruz.
On Tuesday, former Arkansas
Gov. Mike Huckabee is expected to announce an underdog campaign of his
own, fueled by support from the GOP's religious conservative wing. Like
Fiorina, Huckabee is expected to be a Clinton scold. He is announcing
his candidacy in Hope, Arkansas, his hometown as well as former
President Bill Clinton's.
In a field that
could ultimately feature more than a dozen notable candidates, the
Republican contest is considered wide open. It's also more diverse than
it was four years ago.
Republicans acknowledge
a pressing need to broaden the party's appeal beyond its traditional
base of older, white men. President Barack Obama won re-election in 2012
with the strong support of women and the ethnic minorities who are
becoming a larger portion of the electorate.
Both
Fiorina and Carson addressed the racial tension in Baltimore, among
other American cities, after the recent death of Freddie Gray while in
police custody. Six police officers face criminal charges related to the
death.
"I think we were all relieved to see
the six policemen involved in Baltimore charged," Fiorina said. She said
it is vital for all police officers and vehicles that transport
prisoners to be equipped with cameras "for everyone's protection."
Carson was far less specific in his remarks, saying that the underlying issue "is that people are losing hope."
"So
when an opportunity comes to loot, to riot, to get mine, they take it,
not believing that there is a much better way," he said.
Carson
rose from poverty and ultimately became the head of pediatric
neurosurgery for close to three decades at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins
Children's Center. He gained stature in conservative politics after
condemning Obama's health care law in front of the president at the 2013
national prayer breakfast.
Yet he has sometimes struggled under the glare of national politics.
Carson
once suggested Obama's health care law is the worst thing since
slavery, compared present-day America to Nazi Germany, and described
homosexuality as a personal choice.
Fiorina
became a prominent figure in Republican politics in 2010, when she ran
for a Senate seat in California and lost to incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer
by 10 points. She said little on Monday about her background as the
head of Hewlett-Packard, a time marked by soaring revenue, a merger with
Compaq, sinking stock prices and infighting on the board that resulted
in her firing in 2005.
