Fiorina takes victory lap after acclaimed debate performance

Carly Fiorina said Friday her stand-out appearance in the fist GOP presidential marked her emergence on the national stage, contending during an MSNBC appearance that Americans are now paying attention to her 2016 Oval Office bid.

“A lot of people discovered that I can do this job,” Fiorina told “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. “A lot of people discovered that there is more than one woman in this race.

“I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing,” she added. “I’m going to keep campaigning every day and talking about what I think people care about.”

The Hill and multiple other media outlets hailed Fiorina as the winner of the undercard Republican contest hosted by Fox News last night.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO argued on Friday that she is surprising potential voters because of her unorthodox background.

“I had the lowest name ID of any candidate in this field,” Fiorina said of her standing before Thursday evening’s contest. “I’m not a celebrity, I’m not a professional politician.”

“This is going to be a long race,” she added of the GOP’s crowded 2016 field. “It is going to be a process of elimination before it is a process of selection.”

Fiorina additionally charged that her work outside of public office would attract more voters as the White House race continues.

“Government has gotten bigger and bigger, more powerful, for 50 years,” she said. “It’s why people are tired of politics.”

“Republicans and Democrats alike are guilty of this,” Fiorina added, citing “crony capitalism” as an example of bureaucracy run amok. “We are crushing small businesses.”

The ex-technology executive vowed she would run an honorable campaign, however, regardless of the opponents she encounters.

“I don’t think name calling is helpful in politics,” Fiorina said. “We have too much of it.”