Carly Fiorina launches 2016 bid: ‘Yes, I am running for president’

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina formally launched her 2016 Republican presidential campaign on Monday.

Despite having never held elected office, Fiorina told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she believes Americans want a president from outside the “political class.”

“I am running for president. I think I am the best person for the job because I understand how the economy actually works,” she said.

“Our nation was intended to be a citizen government. … [Americans] believe we need to return to a citizen government, and so, I think it’s totally reasonable to look outside the political class.”

In her official campaign launch video, Fiorina took aim directly at Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton. Fiorina is seen sitting in a living room watching a television with Clinton’s own campaign announcement video playing.

Fiorina then abruptly shuts off the TV, cutting Clinton off. She then looks directly into the camera and says, “Our Founders never intended us to have a professional political class.”

“The only way to reimagine our government is to reimagine who is leading it,” she says in the video. “If you’re tired of the sound bites, the vitriol, the pettiness, the ego, the corruption — if you believe it’s time to declare the end of identity politics, if you believe that it’s time to declare the end of lowered expectations, if you believe that it’s time for citizens to stand up to the political class and say, ‘Enough.’ Then join us.”

Fiorina has frequently criticized Clinton. Last month at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington, she said Clinton wouldn’t be able to “play the gender card” if she were to face off against Fiorina as the Republican nominee.

Pundits view Fiorina as a long-shot candidate, and she barely registers in most early polling. But she is the only expected female candidate in a crowded Republican presidential field.

She unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) during a 2010 Senate race.

In 1999, she became the first female CEO of a Fortune 20 company, when she took over HP. Fiorina’s tenure was a central role in Boxer’s political attacks against her during her Senate campaign.

Fiorina was fired in 2005 after a rocky tenure during which she merged the tech giant with Compaq.

Her supporters say she doubled the size of the company, boosted its innovation and planted seeds for long-term success. Her detractors say she was responsible for tumbling stock prices during her tenure.

Fiorina is a breast cancer survivor, which is detailed in her new book, Rising to the Challenge, to be released Tuesday. Her book is dedicated to her stepdaughter, Lori, who died after a battle with drug addiction in 2009.

— This report was updated at 10:10 a.m.