HP ex-CEO, surgeon seek Republican President bid nod

Washington: Former Hewlett-Packard Co chief executive Carly Fiorina announced on Monday she is running for President, becoming the only woman in the pack of Republican candidates for the White House in 2016.

Once one of the most powerful women in the American corporate world, Ms Fiorina announced her bid on ABC News’ Good Morning America show.

“Yes, I am running for President. I think I’m the best person for the job because I understand how the economy actually works. I understand the world, who’s in it, how the world works,” she said.

Ms Fiorina registers near the bottom of polls of the dozen or so Republican hopefuls and has never held public office.

But she has already attracted warm receptions at events in the early voting state of Iowa where she is positioning herself as a conservative, pro-business Republican highly critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, US neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced Sunday that he is seeking the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.

Mr Carson, an African American who grew up poor in Detroit but rose to become a chief paediatric neurosurgery at prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, added his name to the widening field.