Simultaneously depressed and inspired .
The DNC just made it official—Vice President Kamala Harris is now the second woman to be nominated by a major political party for presidents in the US.
Here are the 31 women who have run for President or Vice President in the US:
1.Victoria Woodhullran in 1872 as a candidate of the Equal Rights Party against Ulysses S. Grant (R) and Horace Greeley (D). In addition to being the first female presidential candidate, she also ran the first women-run financial firm on Wall Street with her sister.
2.Belva Anne Lockwoodran twice (first in 1884 and again in 1888) as a presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party. After intensively lobbying Congress to admit women to the Supreme Court bar, she became the first female attorney to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court.
3.Marietta Stoweran as vice president to Belva Ann Lockwood in 1884, making her the first woman to run for the role. She founded and edited “Women’s Herald of Industry” and was a vocal advocate for women’s suffrage.
4.Lena Springsbecame the first woman to be nominated for the VP position by the Democratic party in 1924.
5.Charlotta Spears Basswas the first Black woman to run for VP in 1952. She was the editor and publisher of theCalifornia Eagle, one of the oldest and most influential Black newspapers in the US.
6.Margaret Chase Smithwas a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1964, becoming the first woman to be placed in nomination for the presidency at a major party’s convention. Although she didn’t get the nomination, she did succeed in becoming the first woman to serve both the House of Representatives and the Senate. She held public office for 34 years.
7.Shirley Anita Chisholmran her campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1972. She became the first African American woman to serve in Congress in 1969 and continued to do so for 14 years.
8.Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farentholdwas nominated as VP by Gloria Steinem and Fannie Lou Hamer at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.
9.Patsy Takemoto Mink’s1972 presidential run focused on her opposition to the Vietnam War. Serving 36 years in Congress, she championed the rights of women and people of color. Most notably, she co-authored the Title IX Amendment, which continues to prohibit gender discrimination in federally funded education. After her death, Congress renamed it as the “Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.”
10.Ellen McCormack’spresidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980 primarily focused on overturning Roe v. Wade. She was notable for becoming the first woman to qualify for federal campaign matching funds and to receive Secret Service protection during her campaign.
11.LaDonna Brave Bull Allardused her platform as the 1980 vice presidential nominee of the Citizens Party ticket to discuss environmental issues.
12.Sonia Johnsonran for president for the Citizens Party in 1984. She is best known for co-founding Mormons for ERA to rally support for the Equal Rights Amendment. Her criticism of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) led to her excommunication.
13.Emma Wong Marran as the running mate of Sonia Johnson in 1964. She never held public office and instead worked as an activist for decades as well as the co-chair of the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party.
14.Toni Nathanwas nominated as the vice-presidential candidate for the newly formed Libertarian Party in 1972. She was a founding member and former president of the Association of Libertarian Feminists as well as the vice chair of the Libertarian Party.
15.Geraldine Anne Ferrarowas the first woman to be nominated for the vice-presidential spot by a major political party in the U.S. when she became the running mate of Walter Mondale during the 1984 election. Before her nomination, she worked as the assistant district attorney for the Queens Investigation Bureau, as a head of the Special Victims Bureau, a U.S. Representative of New York, and chair of the 1984 Democratic platform committee.
16.Lenora Branch Fulanibecame the first woman and the first African American to appear on the presidential ballot in all fifty states in 1988. Her campaign emphasized issues such as racial equality, economic justice, and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
17.Jo Jorgensenran as VP to the Libertarian presidential nominee in 1996 and as the party’s presidential nominee in 2020. Before becoming a psychology professor at Clemson University, she founded several software and technology businesses, including Digitech, Inc.
18.Elizabeth Hanford Dolesought the Republican nomination for president in 1999. Throughout her career in the federal government, she served as Secretary of Transportation under President Reagan, Secretary of Labor under President George H.W. Bush, and Senator of North Carolina.
19.Winona LaDukejoined Ralph Nader as his vice-presidential running mate on the Green Party’s presidential ticket in 1996 and 2000. She founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) to buy back Native reservation land and promote sustainable development. LaDuke continues her advocacy work in environmental and Native issues, notably leading efforts during the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
20.Carol Moseley Braunran for president in 2004. She was the first African American woman to serve in the Senate, where she sponsored progressive education bills and campaigned for gun control. She also worked as the US ambassador to New Zealand for two years.
21.Sarah Palinran as Senator John McCain’s VP in the 2008 presidential election. She spent three years as the governor of Alaska, founded a political action committee, wrote several books, functioned as an unofficial spokesperson for the Tea Party movement, and worked as a political commentator.
22.Cynthia Ann McKinneyran for president under the Green Party in 2008 and for vice president in 2020 under the Green Party of Alaska. She served in the U.S. House of Representatives for a total of 12 years, representing Georgia.
23.Michele Marie Bachmann, who founded the House Tea Party Caucus, sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Before her presidential bid, she served as a Minnesota State Senator from 2001 to 2007 and as a U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 6th congressional district from 2007 to 2015.
24.Carly Fiorinaran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. She has never held public office but has done fundraising for the Republican National Committee and served as a business advisor on Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign. Fiorina is most notable for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005, where she was the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company.
25.Hillary Rodham Clintonwas the Democratic nominee for the 2016 presidential election. Previously, she served as the US Secretary of State, a US Senator from New York, and the First Lady of the United States.
26.Kirsten Gillibrandran for president in 2019 but ended her campaign within five months. She has been a US Senator for the past 15 years.
27.Tulsi Gabbardwas a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. In 2004, while serving in the Hawaii State Legislature, she became the first state official to voluntarily leave office to serve in the Army in a war zone. She later served as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021, focusing on issues such as veterans' affairs, foreign policy, and civil liberties.
28.Elizabeth Warrenran as a Democratic candidate in the 2020 presidential election. She came to prominence on the national stage because of her advocacy for consumer protection and her role in establishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Before her political career, she was a professor of law specializing in bankruptcy and commercial law, teaching at several prestigious institutions including Harvard Law School.
29.Marianne Williamsonran for president in 2020 and 2024. She is an activist, lecturer, and author of books on spirituality and self-help.
30.Amy Klobucharran for president in 2020 with a platform focused on healthcare reform, infrastructure improvement, and bipartisanship. She has been the U.S. Senator from Minnesota since 2007 and has served on several key committees, including the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, which she currently chairs.
31.Nimrata “Nikki” Randhawa Haleybecame the first woman of color to be a major GOP presidential candidate in 2024. She has served as the US ambassador to the United Nations, the governor of South Carolina, and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.
32.Kamala Harrisis the current Vice President of the United States and the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election. Before being elected Vice President, she served as the District Attorney of San Francisco, the Attorney General of California, and a U.S. Senator from California. Throughout her career, Harris has focused on issues such as criminal justice reform, consumer protection, and equal rights.
