Carly Fiorina's star power faded Thursday as fast as it has dimmed nationally since the mini polling boom she earned in the second Republican debate nearly two months ago.

Just a half-hour after a few hundred supporters gathered at the state capitol in Concord to see the the former tech executive sign her New Hampshire Primary candidacy papers, just a few dozen turned out to hear her speak at a restaurant less than a block away.

After a three-minute stump speech, FIorina opened the floor for questions. Just one came, from an eight-year-old girl named Anna whose home-schooling mother brought her to see the would-be president.

A pregnant five-second pause followed while Fiorina searched the small crowd for a second question. None came.

'Okay – well, eat up!' she urged. 'Thanks everybody. Enjoy!'

A TALE OF TWO CAMPAIGN EVENTS: Carly Fiorina drew fewer than 50 people to a New Hampshire restaurant ...

... just minutes after pulling in a larger crowd at the New Hampshire statehouse

THE LONE INQUISITOR: An eight-year-old girl who identified herself as 'Anna' was the only one at the Barley House restaurant who wanted to ask Fiorina a question on Thursday

When Fiorina and her staff left, a table half-full of sandwiches and cookies still remained.

The lone question was precious but typical kiddie fare: 'Why do you want to run for president?'

'I'm running for the presidency of the United States because this country has been very good to me,' Fiorina answered her.

'We need to lead the resurgence of this nation to ensure that every American's life, now and for future generations, is filled with the possibilities that come with your God-given gifts. And you have many God-given gifts. That's why.'

Fiorina's disappointing turnout was in marked contrast with the crowd she drew earlier in the day as she arrived to sign her candidacy papers, a quadrennial rite of passage for White House hopefuls.

But many typically drop out long before the nation's first presidential primary in February. Carly, who is polling at about 3 per cent nationally in the last four published surveys, is one of those no longer in the top – or middle – tier.

Her sixth-place standing in the Real Clear Politics average of national polls belies the hard numbers: She averages 3.8 per cent, buoyed only by an outlier 7 per cent showing in a single poll last month.

THE LEFTOVERS: The Fiorina event had free food, but not enough people to eat it

MALAISE: The onetime Hewlett-Packard CEO has seen her poll numbers plummet from 15 per cent to just 3, six weeks after her debating moment in the sun when she crossed swords with Donald Trump

Without the dominance of billionaire Donald Trump and retired surgeon Ben Carson, such numbers would make her an asterisk in the 2016 race.

But with the field's two top names registering the mid-twenties, and two others in the teens, Fiorina's support is thin – even by the standards of former Florida Jeb Bush, whose plummet from the top to the almost-forgotten has become the stuff of head-scratching from TV talking heads.

Carly is doing worse still.

Her breakout moment came in the Sept. 16 debate at the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley, California. Boosted to the national consciousness thanks to a Trumpian foot-in-mouth moment – a jab at her appearance – Fiorina delivered a strong performance and momentarily grabbed all the headlines.

She peaked at 15 per cent in the first poll that followed, briefly taking up residence in third place according to the polling average.

And then Carly had to wait six weeks for another debate.

Her momentum stalled. Her faithful moved on.

By contrast, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who had standout performances in last week's debate, will only have to sustain their forward motion until next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO has mostly been waging a not-so-subtle air war against Hillary Clinton –femme en femme – that only she can sustain without risking accusations of sexism.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: Carly Fiorina sits in 6th place in a GOP field of more than a dozen, but most polls show her drawing just 3 per cent support, according to data from Real Clear Politics

NOT MUCH TO SEE: On a day when four candidates formally entered the New Hampshire primary race, Fiorina's arrival at the Barley House was accompanied by only a smattering of people

'Feminism began as a rallying cry to empower women — to vote, to get an education, to enter the workplace,' she wrote Thursday on Facebook. 'But over the years, feminism has devolved into a left-leaning political ideology where women are pitted against men and used as a political weapon to win elections.'

'The progressive view of feminism is not about women. It is about ideology,' she added. 'And their policies are not working for women.'

Deploying Fiorina as Clinton's foil is a useful tactic for the Republican Party, but it may be short-lived.

With Carly polling in the 5- to 6-per cent range in both Iowa and New Hampshire, she may be whistling past her own political graveyard, engaged in a quixotic bid to meet Clinton in a general election.

Meanwhile, she spent part of Thursday afternoon crowing about what she called 'the largest crowd that's been' to the statehouse for a candidate signing – bigger even that Donald Trump's on Wednesday, she suggested – and hoping to sustain a moment's enthusiasm.

'Did you see all those people?' she asked a TV interviewer.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is scheduled to follow her at the statehouse on Thursday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. appearance.

By 2:00 the crowd gathered outside the statehouse was several times larger than hers – and Bernie's faithful still had more than an hour to wait on a crisp autumn day.