Carly Fiorina eyes a 2016 presidential bid

Add former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina to the list of Republicans taking a look at the 2016 presidential race.

The Washington Postreports Fiorina, who lost a 2010 U.S. Senate race in California, "has been talking privately with potential donors, recruiting campaign staffers (and) courting grass-roots activists." She's also planning to visit Iowa and New Hampshire.

While Fiorina's got a compelling narrative as the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, she will also face challenges in what could be a very crowded field of Republicans reaching for the White House.

For one, Fiorina was defeated by Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer by 10 percentage points in 2010 — a year in which there were strong anti-Washington feelings across the country and the political environment was ripe for Republicans.

In 2010, Fiorina was an unknown to many conservative voters and she received a well-timed endorsement in the GOP primary from Sarah Palin. That shored up Fiorina with conservatives and she defeated former congressman Tom Campbell and Tea Party favorite Chuck DeVore for the Senate nomination. But if she runs in 2016, there are many better known and well-established Republicans  — from Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who appeal to the party's Tea Party wing, to current and former governors such as Chris Christie and Jeb Bush, who would attract support from the GOP's mainstream — who are also looking at running for president.

In an interview with National Journal ahead of the 2014 midterm elections, Fiorina said this about running for president:

People ask me that a lot, so if you get asked that a lot you have to think about it — you have to consider it. I'm flattered by the question and I have to consider it.

The Post also reported Fiorina, who received a $21 million severance package when she was fired from Hewlett-Packard, still owes nearly $500,000 from the Senate race.