Fiorina officially announces Senate candidacy

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina on Wednesday officially announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate after months of speculation.

Fiorina will run as a Republican against Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) The ex-Silicon Valley executive's entrance into the campaign means that she will face conservative state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) in a June primary. The contest could set up another contentious GOP primary contest between a candidate favored by the base (DeVore) versus a candidate backed by the party establishment (Fiorina).

Fiorina, who served as a top adviser on Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign, announced her candidacy in an Orange County Register op-ed today. In it, she addressed concerns over unemployment and "too much spending in Washington."

She also took on the healthcare reform debate in Washington writing that "we should build on what works" instead of "remaking the entire healthcare system.

Fiorina experienced some troubles during the exploratory phase of her campaign.

The launch of her campaign website was mocked by liberals and it was reported last month that she has a spotty voting record in California. She voted in only six of 14 elections since 2000, skipping presidential primaries in 2000 and 2004 as well as the state's recalll election for governor in 2003.

She addressed her voting record in the op-ed, saying:

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...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.

Other critic have questioned her performance as H-P CEO, a position from which she was publicly fired after she pushed through the acquisition of Compaq Corp.

UPDATED 1:03 p.m.

Boxer campaign manager Rose Kapolczynsk said in response to Fiorina's endorsement, "California needs a Senator who will fight to create jobs - not a failed CEO who laid off 28,000 Americans and shipped jobs overseas."