Women’s History Month: 14 Females Who Ran For President

Tipping our hats to those all over the spectrum

Written by Hana Brannigan

Happy Women’s History Month.

To celebrate, we’d like to recognize the extraordinary women who ran for president as part of U.S. history. These select few span across all ends of the political spectrum, and they date back way farther than Jill Stein or Hilliary Clinton.

Whether it’s WHM or International Women’s Day, we encourage a gentlemanly shoutout to the ladies who’ve worked 24/7 to shape the freedoms we have today. In addition, it also wouldn’t hurt to impress your date with some of this knowledge.

Victoria Woodhull: First Woman to Run for President

Election Year: 1872

Party: Equal Right’s Party

Core Campaign Message: Women’s rights and labor reforms, “Free love” meaning liberty to marry and divorce, equal rights for Black Americans

Before Running for President: She was a leader in the Women’s Suffrage Movement, an author, and politician

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• Woodhull established the Equal Right’s Party, and her presidential running mate was Frederick Douglas
• She started the first woman-run stock brokerage company, with financial assistance from Cornelius Vanderbilt
• She published Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly with her sister, a publication that was focused on birth control rights and free love

Belva Lockwood: First Woman to Appear on Official Ballot

Election Year: 1884 and 1888

Party: Equal Right’s Party

Core Campaign Message: Women and minority rights

Before Running for President: She was an attorney, educator, politician, and author

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Chester A. Arthur,  21st President of the United States, and Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States

Overall  Major Accomplishments:

• First woman attorney to be given the privilege to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court (she petitioned Congress for this)
• Lobbied a bill so female federal employees would get paid the same as male federal employees
• Helped represent a case for the Cherokees, winning them a $5 million reimbursement from the government

Margaret Chase Smith: First Woman to Enter Nomination for a Major Party

Election Year: 1964

Party: Republican Party

Core Campaign Message: Moderate Republican, Equal Rights for women

Before Running for President: She was the Republican U.S. Representative and Senator for Maine, the first woman to serve in both houses. She was also one of the first Republicans to speak out against McCarthyism

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States; she lost the primaries to Republican Senator Barry Goldwater

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• Served in the House and Senate, making her the first woman to serve in all chambers of Congress
• Longest-serving female Senator in history at that point (surpassed in 2011)
• Co-created the Equal Rights Amendment to improve the status of women in the military, which later won her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Charlene Mitchell: First African American Woman to Run for President

Election Year: 1968

Party: Communist Party U.S.A.

Core Campaign Message: International socialism, women’s rights, and civil rights

Before Running for President: She was a political activist and an influential leader of the Communist Party U.S.A.

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• Although she only made it on two state ballots, she was the first African American woman to run for president
• She organized anti-segregation pickets and sit-ins since the age of 13
• Lead activism for Pan-Africanism, a movement aimed at strengthening the bond between all people of African descent around the world

Shirley Chisholm: First Black Woman to Enter Nomination for a Major Party

Election Year: 1972

Party: Democratic Party

Core Campaign Message: Women’s rights and civil rights

Before Running for President: First Black woman nominated to Congress, New York Representative, educator, author

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States; she lost the primaries to George McGovern

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• First female African American elected into Congress, in which she ended up serving seven terms
• First African American nominated for a major national party, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party
• Her autobiography, Unbought and Unbossed, became a Feminist mantra
• She was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Patsy Mink: First Minority Woman Elected to Congress

Election Year: 1972

Party: Democratic Party

Core Campaign Message: Anti-war, Education, Women’s Rights, Environmentalism

Before Running for President: She was an attorney, U.S. Representative for Hawaii

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States; she lost the primaries to George McGovern

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• First minority woman to be elected into Congress
• Served as president of Americans for Democratic Action
• Lead the Early Childhood Education Act, Women’s Education Equality Act, and the Higher Education Act
• She was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama

Linda Jenness: Raised Issues of Ballot Access Standards

Election Year: 1972

Party: Socialist Workers Party

Core Campaign Message: Communism, solidarity work, and support for Cuba

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States

Jenness did not make it onto the Georgia ballot because she was unable to collect enough signatures (her party had less than 90,000 people). This historical controversy continues to bring the issue of Georgia’s ballot access standards to the forefront. She was 31 at the time and continues to support the SWP today.

Lenora Fulani: First Woman to Achieve Ballot Access in All 50 States

Election Year: 1988 and 1992

Party: New Alliance Party

Core Campaign Message: Racial equality, gay rights, and political reform

Before Running for President: She was a psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Ronald Regan, 40th President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• She received the most votes for President among all female candidates throughout history, until Jull Stein in 2012.
• Led the formation of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party
• Plays a large role in the New York Institute for Social Therapy and Research

Jill Stein: Woman Who’s Won Most General Election Votes in History

Election Year: 2012 and 2016

Party: Green Party

Core Campaign Message: Climate change, health care reformation, human rights

Before Running for President: She was a physician and environmental activist

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Barack Obama, 44th Presdient of the United States, Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Overall Major Accomplishments:

• An aggressive spokesperson for environmental issues, which got her arrested quite a few times:

1. First Protesting foreclosures at a bank sit-in
2. Then, trying to break into a presidential debate at Hofstra University, which excluded third parties
3. Then again, delivering food and supplies to environmental activists
4. And once more, spraypainting a bulldozer during a protest.

• Takes the title of the female candidate with the most general election votes in history

Hillary Clinton: First Woman to Participate in Presidential Debates

Election Year: 2008 and 2016

Party: Democratic Party

Core Campaign Message: Middle-class income reform, women’s rights, campaign finance reform, and the Affordable Care Act reform

Before Running for President: She was a U.S. Senator from New York, and First Lady of the United States during Clinton’s term

Eventually Lost Presidency to: Barack Obama, 44th Presdient of the United States, Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Overall Major Accomplishments:

First woman to win the popular vote

Aided in passing the Iran Nuclear Deal

Elizabeth Warren: 2020 Candidate

Election Year: 2o2o

Party: Democratic Party

Core Campaign Message: Progressive goals, consumer protection, economic opportunity, social safety net

Before Running for President: She currently serves as a senior U.S. Senator from Massachusettes, and she was a prominent scholar in bankruptcy law

Now Running against: Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Kirsten Gillibrand: 2020 Candidate

Election Year: 2o2o

Party: Democratic Party

Core Campaign Message: Unity between Democrats and Republicans, Women’s Rights, health care reform, education, job training

Before Running for President: She is a New York Lawmaker known for #MeToo advocacy

Now Running against: Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Amy Klobuchar: 2020 Candidate

Election Year: 2o2o

Party: Democratic Party

Core Campaign Message: Pragmatism, Moderate Democratic goals, keeping campaign promises

Before Running for President: She was an attorney and currently serves as senior United States Senator from Minnesota

Now Running against: Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Kamala Harris: 2020 Candidate

Election Year: 2020

Party: Democratic

Core Campaign Message: Affordable education and housing, Medicare for all, immigration rights, middle-class tax cuts

Before Running for President: She currently serves as the U.S. Senator from California. She was the District Attorney for San Francisco and the General Attorney for California. Harris has been a leader in local, state, and federal governments.

Now Running against: Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

So that’s the list so far. It’s clear that women’s impact in politics has grown a lot in the last 148 years, and we wonder where it’s going in the next 100.

Hana Brannigan


SOURCE: THE GENTLEMANUAL