Washington (CNN)In theory, Carly Fiorina should be one of the best fundraisers in the Republican field.
She was the breakout star in CNN's Republican debate on Wednesday, the second straight contest in which she's distinguished herself. She's the former CEO of a major company and she's well-connected in donor-rich California.
But she has a problem: The money hasn't followed the hype -- yet.
"Buzz tends to turn on the money spigot, and she's clearly getting a lot of buzz out of last night," said Kenneth Kies, a longtime Republican bundler and lobbyist. "But it's probably not enough to fuel the tank to get you through to February."
Buoyed by two consecutive widely praised debate performances, Fiorina is expected to surge in the next round of public opinion surveys. But party insiders say her next challenge will be to convert that goodwill into hard dollars that can drive votes come next winter
Despite her deep connections to the conservative movement in Washington and to the moneyed class of Silicon Valley, Fiorina's campaign had only $1 million on hand as of this summer (roughly the same amount as Rick Perry, who has since dropped out of the race due to financial problems.) The former Hewlett-Packard executive took in about $1.7 million in the first two months of her campaign, less than every other Republican candidate she shared the stage with on Wednesday.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/18/politics/carly-fiorina-campaign-debate-fundraising/index.htmlA bit of a rush to judgement? Smart money also waits to see if someone is a flash in the pan before committing.
