More than a century and a half before Nikki Haley’s run for the GOP presidential nomination, a fiery activist from Ohio became the first woman nominated for U.S. president. Victoria Woodhull’s varied and colorful life makes her difficult to pigeonhole. The suffragist, medium, businesswoman, stockbroker and newspaper publisher was “Mrs. Satan” to some, a visionary champion of women’s and children’s rights to others.

She rode motorcycles, preached “free love” and followed the guidance of an ancient Greek orator she believed had presented himself to her as a spirit guide. The Equal Rights Party nominated Woodhull to face incumbent Republican Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 and Democrat Horace Greeley, nearly 50 years before women had the right to vote. At 34, she was a few months shy of the required age, but most historians still view her nomination and run as the first. (AP_ Julie Carr Smyth)

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Many women in the past have sought to become President of the United States. A number of them received national attention, either as pioneers in the electoral process, as potential candidates, or as candidates of minor parties with a significant national presence. As early as the late 1800s, a very small group of women were challenging the status quo by asserting their right to run for President at the same time that women were struggling to secure the right to vote. Women finally gained the right to vote in 1920, although the nation has yet to elect a woman president.

Victoria Woodhull (1872): Amongst this group of women In 1872, Victoria Woodhull, a stockbroker, publisher, and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, ran for president of the United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket. At the time, she was only thirty-three years old, too young to meet the constitutionally-mandated age requirement of thirty-five for the presidency.

Balva Lockwood (1884), Belva Lockwood, the first woman admitted to practice law before the U.S Supreme Court, ran for president on the Equal Rights Party Ticket in 1884 and again in 1888. Unlike Woodhull, Lockwood ran a full campaign for the presidency, although she did not expect to win.

Margaret Chase Smith (1964), In (1964) US Senator Smith (R-ME) was nominated for the presidency by Vermont Sen. George Aiken at the Republican national convention, becoming the first woman whose name was placed in nomination for the presidency at a major party’s convention. Smith had established a record as a brave and independent lawmaker, the first to publicly denounce Sen. Joseph McCarthy from the Senate floor for his attacks on people he labeled as Communists.

Shirley Chisholm (1972), In 1972, Congresswoman Chisholm ran for president in the Democratic primaries. She won one primary -- a “beauty contest” in New Jersey not tied to delegate selection, in which the leading candidates did not participate. At the party’s national convention, she garnered 151.25 delegate votes before Senator George McGovern clinched the nomination. At the same convention, Frances (Sissy) Farenthold, a former Texas state legislator who twice ran for governor of that state, finished second in the balloting for the vice presidential nomination, receiving more than 400 votes.

Chisholm was the first Black woman to seek a major party’s nomination for U.S. President. She campaigned throughout the country and was on the ballot in twelve primaries. Chisholm had already made history as the first Black woman from Brooklyn to be elected to the New York state legislature and the first Black woman elected to Congress.

Patsy Mink (1971), At the request of Oregon liberals, Congresswoman Mink (D-HI) agreed to have her name appear on the Oregon presidential ballot to provide a platform to discuss opposition to the Vietnam War, force Democratic front-runner George McGovern to resume his antiwar focus, and hold the state’s liberal votes together until its delegates reached the convention. Mink received more than five thousand votes in the Oregon primary on May 23 and smaller numbers in Maryland and Wisconsin, where selecting officials placed her name on the ballot. She made no effort to have her name placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

Ellen McCormack (1976) McCormack entered 20 state primaries for the Democratic presidential nomination as an anti-abortion candidate, winning 22 convention votes. She became the first woman to qualify for federal campaign matching funds and also qualified for Secret Service protection. In 1980, she ran for president again as the candidate of the Right to Life Party, winning more than 30,000 votes from three states.

Geraldine Ferraro (1984), Third-term Congresswoman Ferraro (D-NY) became the first woman ever to run on a major party’s national ticket when she was selected by Walter F. Mondale as his vice presidential running mate. The ticket was decisively defeated, capturing only 13 electoral votes, and few analysts felt that Ferraro’s presence had a strong impact – positive or negative – on the outcome.

Lenora Fulani (1988 and 1992), In 1988 and again in 1992, Fulani ran for president as a member of the New Alliance Party. She received sufficient support to qualify for federal matching funds.

Elizabeth Dole (1999), In January 1999, Dole resigned her position as president of the American Red Cross, which she had held since 1991, to consider a run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency.

Carol Moseley Braun (2004), Braun, a former U.S. Senator (D-IL) and Ambassador to New Zealand under President Bill Clinton, was among ten Democrats who sought the presidential nomination in 2004.

Hillary Clinton (2008), Hillary Rodham Clinton – US Senator (D-NY) and former first lady – became the first woman to win a major party’s presidential primary in any state for the purposes of delegate selection when she won the primary in New Hampshire on January 8, 2008. (In 1972, Shirley Chisholm had won a “beauty contest” primary in New Jersey that was not tied to delegate selection.) Clinton also became the first woman to be a presidential candidate in every primary and caucus in every state.

Sarah Palin (2008), In 2008, Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), selected by US Senator John McCain as his vice presidential running mate, became the first woman on a national GOP ticket.

Michele Bachmann (2012) US Rep. Bachmann (R-MN) was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

Carly Fiorina (2016) In May 2015, Fiorina announced her candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the only woman among the GOP candidates.

Hillary Clinton (2016) On April 12, 2015, Clinton announced her second bid for the presidency. On July 26, 2016, Hillary Clinton became the official Democratic nominee for the presidency - the first woman to ever top a major party’s ballot for the nation’s highest office. Prior to Clinton in 2008 and Fiorina in 2016, just 5 women had competed in major party primaries for the presidency.

“Someday a Woman will be President!”

In 1995, controversy erupted when Wal-mart pulled a T-shirt featuring Margaret, a character from the popular Dennis the Menace comic, proclaiming “Someday a woman will be president!” from its shelves after a few customers complained the shirts were against family values. The chain later added them back, stating “Loud and clear, our customers told us it was a mistake to remove them.”

QOUTE: “Whether women are better than men I cannot say—but I can say they are certainly no worse.” (Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister)

Quote: “To be liberated, a woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to man but in the context of her own capacity and her personality.” (Indira Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister)

Aiming High: Women Pursuing The Presidency

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“Someday a Woman will be President!”

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