Iowans (but not the polls) swooning over Carly Fiorina

“It was the most exciting speech all night,” said Cait Suttie, 27, who waited to meet Ms. Fiorina and now wants to volunteer with her campaign.

Iowa voters are known to fall in love with firebrand candidates and underfunded outsiders, from Pat Buchanan in 1996 to Howard Dean in 2004. And this cycle, Republicans here are starting to swoon over Ms. Fiorina, who is so unknown in national polls that she may not even be included in the first presidential debate in August…

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Her campaign is expanding in the state faster than those of some better-known rivals, and aides hope a strong showing in Iowa will give Ms. Fiorina the money, infrastructure and enthusiasm to continue to make her case in New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond.

Supporters are careful not to call it a groundswell. “Everyone, understand the challenges she faces,” said Boris Feldman, a Silicon Valley lawyer and fund-raiser for Ms. Fiorina. The Republican establishment is “ready to declare the messiah before the three wise men arrive,” he said, but independent-minded Iowans can help stem the tide.

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