Garfield Angus | Can the US make history with first woman president?

With opinion polls showing almost dead heat for the two candidates in key swing states, moments, before United States elects its first female president, it is once again at a very nervy electioneering.

Since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the American constitution, on August 18, 1920, which granted women the right to vote in US elections, a contest with a leading female candidate has never been this close before, and pundits and campaign officials will likely have a long wait on election night for a result.

The woman who paved the way in the 1872 presidential election, for today’s possibility, was Victoria Woodhull, as presidential candidate for the Equal Rights Party, a publisher and women’s rights champion, though she faced violence and threats, and was not legally able to vote for herself, with Frederick Douglas she received 26 votes.

While recent memory is placed on the 2016 election where Hillary Clinton got the votes, but fell short in the Electoral College system, before her time, following on Woodhull’s breaking the seal, there have been some 29 female candidates who sought the presidency of the US government, through the ballots.

NOTABLE NAMES

Notable names are Belva Ann Lockwood, who ran in 1884 and 1888 under the banner of the Equal Rights Party. Margaret Chase Smith, in the 1964 election, was the first woman to be nominated for a major party, in the Republican primary votes in New Hampshire, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, and Oregon, and a few other states.

In 1972, Shirley Anita Chisholm was the first African American woman to seek nomination for president, representing the Democratic Party. He name was on the ballot in 12 primaries, and, at the end, she received 151.95 votes at the Democratic National Convention.

Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of colour to enter the US Congress, in 1972, embarked upon an anti-war campaign, during the Democratic presidential primary, winning two per cent of the votes. She also served as assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs, and as president of Americans for Democratic Action.

In 1976 and 1980, Ellen McCormack entered 20 state primaries for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1976 she became an anti-abortion candidate, winning 22 convention votes. She became the first woman to qualify for federal campaign matching funds and 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.

Sonia Johnson ran in 1984, on the ticket of the Citizens Party, receiving federal matching funds and winning more than 70,000 votes. Patricia S. Schroeder ran on the ticket of the Citizens Party, receiving federal matching funds and winning more than 70,000 votes.

A Democrat, she made headlines when she took preliminary steps toward making a serious run for the presidency, but dropped out before the primaries because she could not raise the necessary funds, Lenora Fulani, representing the New Alliance Party, sought to become president in 1988 and 1992, and qualified for federal matching funds.

Only candidates seeking nomination by a political party to the office of president are eligible to receive primary matching funds. A presidential candidate must establish eligibility by showing broad-based public support. He or she must raise more than $5,000 in each of at least 20 states (that is, over $100,000).

FIRST WOMAN

To date, Kamala Harris, is the first woman (black and Indian), to hold the office of vice president of the US. Prior to Harris, whose father is a Jamaican, other women have sought to become vice president. Sarah Palin, in 2008, for the Republican Party; Geraldine Ferraro, for the Democrats in 1984; Frances ‘Sissy’ Farenthold had her name put into nomination for vice president at the Democratic National Convention in 1972.

Toni Nathan, in 1972, as the Libertarian candidate for vice president, became the first woman to win an electoral vote, when one Republican voted for her instead of for his party’s candidate. It is worth noting that other women throughout history have had their names placed into nomination and/or earned electoral votes for vice president, but they did not receive wide support.

Harris was selected as President Joe Biden’s running mate, after contesting for president in the 2020 Democratic primary, she left the race before the first primary contest. She was district attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, also, California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017, serving as the first black woman to be elected statewide in California. In 2016, Harris became the first woman of colour to be elected to the Senate from California, as well as the first south Asian woman, and only the second black woman in the US Senate.

If she is successful in this year’s presidential contest, it will put the US on par with countries, such as Sri Lanka, India, Israel, Argentina, Central African Republic, Portugal, United Kingdom, Dominica, Iceland, Norway, Malta, Philippines, Pakistan, Ireland, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Poland, Burundi, Canada, Rwanda, Turkey, Haiti, Guyana, New Zealand, and Jamaica, that have elected and selected women to be head of state.

Other countries whose governments have been headed by women include Latvia, Panama, Switzerland, Finland, Indonesia, Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Peru, Macedonia, Mozambique, Germany, Ukraine, Chile, Liberia, South Korea, Moldova, Australia, Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Denmark, Kosovo, Mali, Thailand, Malawi, Slovenia, Brazil, Mauritius, Namibia, Barbados, and Mexico.

There are 25 female members in the US Senate, 151 in the Congress, and a recent poll indicate that 53 per cent of Americans say more women are needed in political office, in their country. The Biden Cabinet has four female members, including the first female treasury secretary, Janet Yellen. In the very crucial office, secretary of state, three women have served in that capacity: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton.

In 2007, Nancy Pelosi became the first, and only woman to be elected as speaker of the US House of Representatives. The US Supreme Court has four female members, and 27 per cent of the Federal judges, are women.

A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center says 39 per cent of respondents say a woman president would be better at working out compromises, with 37 per cent saying a woman would be better at maintaining a respectful tone in politics, and a third say a woman president would be better than a man at being honest, and ethical, with 34 per cent say she would stand up for what she believes in, despite pressure.

In September, the Pew Center reported that 81 per cent, say the economy will be very important to their vote in the presidential election, while 45 per cent express more confidence in Vice President Harris to make wise decisions about immigration policy.

Improvement of the status for women in the US is a major concern for rights group, and gender specialist, as their standing has consistently lags behind men’s, despite notable advancements over recent decades. Women earn less than men, experience higher poverty rates than their male counterparts, face specific adverse health conditions, and remain under-represented in political office across the various spectrums.

Garfield Angus is a senior journalist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com