In case you haven’t heard yet, Republican Donald Trump has won the 2016 presidential race over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Even though she didn’t succeed, just the fact that a woman got far enough to be nominated is monumental. However, it’s not the first time a woman has tried for Commander-in-Chief. Let’s take a look back at other women who have come close to the Oval Office. The following women ran for President and acquired over 30,000 votes:
1940: Gracie Allen. Party: Surprise. Winner: Franklin. D. Roosevelt.
1964: Margaret Chase Smith. Party: Republican. Winner: Lyndon B. Johnson.
1972: Linda Jenness. Party: Socialist Workers. Winner: Richard Nixon.
1972: Shirley Chisholm. Party: Democratic. Winner: Richard Nixon.
1976: Margaret Wright. Party: Peoples. Winner: Jimmy Carter.
1980: Ellen McCormack. Party: Right to Life. Winner: Ronald Reagan.
1984: Sonia Johnson. Party: Citizens. Winner: Ronald Reagan.
1988/1992: Lenora Fulani. Party: New Alliance. Winner: George H. W. Bush/Bill Clinton.
1996: Elvena Lloyd-Duffie. Party: Democratic. Winner: Bill Clinton.
2004: Carol Moseley Braun. Party: Democratic. Winner: George W. Bush.
2008: Cynthia McKinney. Party: Green. Winner: Barack Obama.
2012: Roseanne Barr. Party. Peace and Freedom. Winner: Barack Obama.
2016: Carly Fiorina. Party: Republican. Winner: Donald Trump.
2012/2016: Jill Stein. Party: Green. Winners: Barack Obama/Donald Trump.
And Honorable Mention…1872: Victoria Woodhull with running mate Frederick Douglass for the Equal Rights Party.
Additionally, two women have ran and won the vice-presidential nominations of major parties:
Geraldine Ferraro for the Democratic Party in 1984 and Sarah Palin for the Republican Party in 2008.
As of now, Hillary Clinton is the only woman to have ever won the presidential nomination of a major party (2016).
Whether or not you support or voted for Clinton, you cannot deny that this election has been one for the history books. Win or lose, Hillary Clinton has not only proven that women can do the same thing men can do but she has shown young women and girls that they have the capacity to follow their dreams.
