Women in US Politics

To date, there has not been a female president. There have been numerous nominees. Below are all the nominees for the Presidency:

Year Name Party How many votes they

received at election

1872 Victoria Woodhull (Equal Rights Party) Not counted
1884 Belva Ann Lockwood National Equal Rights Party 4,149
1888 Belva Ann Lockwood National Equal Rights Party Not known
1940 Gracie Allen Surprise Party 42,000
1952 Ellen Linea W. Jensen Washington Peace Party  
Mary Kennery[6] American Party  
Agnes Waters American Woman’s Party  
1968 Charlene Mitchell Communist Party 1,076
1972 Linda Jenness Socialist Workers Party 83,380
Evelyn Reed Socialist Workers Party 13,878
1976 Margaret Wright People’s Party 49,024
1980 Ellen McCormack Right to Life Party 32,327
Maureen Smith Peace and Freedom Party 18,116
Deirdre Griswold Workers World Party 13,300
1984 Sonia Johnson Citizens Party 72,200
Gavrielle Holmes[9] Workers World Party 2,656
1988 Lenora Fulani New Alliance Party 217,219
Willa Kenoyer Socialist PartyLiberty Union Party 3,928
1992 Lenora Fulani New Alliance Party 73,714
Helen Halyard Socialist Equality Party 3,050
Isabell Masters Looking Back Party 327
Gloria La Riva Workers World Party 181
1996 Monica Moorehead Workers World Party 29,083
Marsha Feinland Peace and Freedom Party 25,332
Mary Cal Hollis Socialist PartyLiberty Union Party 4,766
Diane Beall Templin The American Party 1,847
Isabell Masters Looking Back Party 752
2000 Monica Moorehead Workers World Party 4,795
Cathy Gordon Brown Independent 1,606
2004 Diane Beall Templin The American Party (lost ballot status)
2008 Diane Beall Templin The American Party (lost ballot status)
Gloria La Riva Party for Socialism and Liberation 7,427
Elvena Lloyd-Duffie Independent (didn’t complete filing)
Cynthia McKinney Green PartyWorkers World Party 150,061

 

It is very interesting to see that female nominees for the Presidency dates back as far as 1872. Unfortunately though, women have not had much luck at the polls and historically have not gained many votes. In recent years, women have done slightly better, most recently, Cynthia McKinney gaining 150,061 votes. However, Barack Obama received 66, 117, 432 popular votes in 2008, illustrating how little of the vote Cynthia McKinney actually received and how far away the US is from having a female president.