Carly Fiorina killed it during the last debate. Polling has her in second place behind Donald Trump, marking a whopping 12% increase in support from earlier this month.

Considering she very nearly didn’t make the cut for CNN’s GOP throwdown, I think we can all afford to throw her props. Love her, hate her, or have questions about her, registered voters have spoken—they want to see more. It’s not surprising; many pundits predicted that all Carly needed to raise her profile within the crowded Republican field was a chance to steal the spotlight.

She did it. Her star is rising, and she’s using the opportunity not only to hit back at her most vocal opponents, but to bolster her conservative bona fides before a divided voter pool. It’s a continuation of the strategy she used earlier this summer—when her polling numbers sat below 5%—but it’s still effective. This time around, Fiorina is rebooting the conversation on abortion with a new Carly for America PAC ad that lashes out against Democrats who refused to acknowledge the existence of the Planned Parenthood sting videos after she referenced them in the CNN debate.

It’s an intense ad, and be warned—it contains graphic images from the now-infamous sting videos.

Watch:

More from Fox News:

The former HP CEO made the remarks at the Sept. 16 Republican primary debate last week as she dared President Obama and Hillary Clinton to watch the Planned Parenthood videos. “A fully-formed fetus, on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says ‘we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain,’” Fiorina said, adding that if Congress does not pass legislation defunding Planned Parenthood, “shame on us.” Some questioned the veracity of the Republican presidential candidate’s remarks after the debate, claiming that the scene exactly as she described was not in any of the videos. However, the Fiorina camp circulated a video of a kicking fetus, which was included in the ad put out by CARLY for America.

…

The video goes on to show the scene to which Fiorina was referring — a fetus with its legs kicking — before showing another clip of an aborted fetus, and then a former Planned Parenthood technician describing how she was told: “We’re going to procure brain.”

I think this ad is effective; it draws attention to both Carly’s attention to pro-life issues, and her ability to come across as strong on the issues without adopting a Clinton-esque attitude about them. Her focus on “character” is key; she will be able to use this theme in other ad campaigns, which should resonate with voters who crave both a political “outsider” and a candidate who can effectively message on serious policy issues.

Follow Amy on Twitter @ThatAmyMiller



