Carly Fiorina says the ramped-up media attention and attacks on her past are being driven not only because she has risen in the polls, but because she is a conservative woman - something the mainstream media has a hard time accepting.

Fiorina made the comments during an appearance on The Kelly File:

"There are a lot of liberals that find me kind of scary right now because I am doing really well in the polls right now, and - horror of horrors - I am a conservative woman."

Fiorina said a Washington Post article on her 2010 campaign debt was bereft of facts; she insists she has paid all past debts. She also pointed out that there have not been similar articles on Hillary Clinton's much larger campaign debts carried over many years.

In several head-to-head polls against Clinton, Fiorina comes out on top in states such as New Hampshire and Iowa, and runs even with Clinton nationally.

Fiorina says she will continue to keep speaking about the issues and her policy positions as her name recognition increases. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO has gone from not having enough support to make the cut for the Fox News debate among Republican candidates, to running third behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson, according to the Real Clear Politics poll tracker.