New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez seems to check all the boxes the GOP needs checked — the Latina has a strong record in her state and was just reelected handily. She’s downplayed any national aspirations, but party elders can be very convincing.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has been proving exactly why the GOP needs a woman on the ticket to balance out Clinton.

The GOP’s biggest problem over the past few cycles has been figuring out both how to talk to, and about, women. In recent years, male politicians tripped badly over questions about rape, abortion and sexual assault.

According to 2012 exit polling, GOP nominee Mitt Romney lost women by 11 points nationally, 55 to 44 percent. Women made up 53 percent of the presidential electorate that year.

How to deftly criticize Clinton without it backfiring is something the all-male GOP presidential front-runners will have to figure out too. Yet, Fiorina could provide them cover — and she’s already been embracing the role of attack dog in a way that men can’t.