Stateside Stories

Now that Joe Biden has stepped out of the Presidential race, Kamala Harris has been officially nominated by the Democrats to run for President. In 2020, Harris made history as the first female Vice President; and she could make history again by becoming the first female President. The United States is very far behind when it comes to electing a female leader. 59 nations elected a female leader before the United States did. Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) was the first in 1960 when Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the Prime Minister. She served from 1960- 1965 and again from 1970 to 1977.

Many nations elected female leaders in the late 20^th Century including India, the United Kingdom, Canada and Iceland. However, it was not until 2020 that the United States had a woman in a significant leadership position. Even then, Harris has not been an active Vice President. Very little has been heard from her during the last four years; and it is difficult to note any achievements that she has obtained in that role. This might make running against Trump fairly difficult. Biden choosing to step down as late as he did may also hamper things, as Harris may not have enough time to gain a loyal voter base. It normally takes longer than three months to campaign and gain enough support to win an election.

In this blog, I will be looking at other US female Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates and why they did not get elected to their desired roles. Hillary Clinton is an example of a woman who nearly became the President. She was the first candidate to face Donald Trump back in 2016. Despite winning the popular vote, she did not win the electoral college. It was a very close race until late October, when a scandal would destroy Clinton’s chances of winning. Two other women have attempted to become the Vice President. Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman from a major party to be nominated for the Vice President. She ran alongside Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984. The second was Sarah Palin, who ran alongside Republican John McCain in 2008. Both of these women were also involved in scandals that hurt their chances of being elected and left them as laughing stocks.

Hillary Clinton (Democrat who ran for President in 2016)

Hillary Clinton’s attempt to become the President in 2016 is one that will be remembered for a long time; albeit for the wrong reasons. She was the first presidential candidate to face Donald Trump, who referred to her as ‘Crooked Hillary’. The two candidates could not have been more different. Donald Trump had no prior political experience; he was a fraudulent businessman who made a name for himself starring in the American version of The Apprentice. Clinton, on the other hand, had plenty of experience. She served as the First Lady from 1993 to 2001. Prior to 2016, she had also served as Senator for New York and as the Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. Winning the election should have been easy for her, and she did win the popular vote, obtaining 65 million votes whilst Trump won 62 million votes. However, she lost the electoral college, and ultimately the Presidency.

Clinton’s Presidential run was marred by controversy. On the 28 October 2016, just two weeks before the election, she became involved in a serious scandal. It was revealed that she was being investigated and cleared twice by the FBI for possessing a private email account whilst she was the Secretary of State. Whilst using a private email address is not illegal, it is suspicious. Her claims that she used this email address to plan her daughter’s wedding did not satisfy concerned voters. To many, it appeared that she was hiding something. This could be because of the Clinton’s past. Whilst Hillary Clinton was the First Lady, she and Bill Clinton faced scrutiny due to their investment in Whitewater; which was a development site in Arkansas. It was believed that they had not been honest about their financial records. Whilst they were cleared of any charges, it did negatively affect the public’s trust in them. The scrutiny Clinton faced due to her emails would have ignited this distrust; people believed that she was a crook.

The past may have also hampered Clinton in another way. Many older voters remembered Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky in the 1990’s, and how he committed perjury trying to cover it up. Clinton was impeached for lying under oath in 1998, but was able to remain as the President until 2001. Many remembered how Hillary Clinton stood by her husband’s side even when evidence of his affair came to light. Some viewed her a loyal wife, others believed that she was a fool. Whilst the affair was in no way her fault, her image has been marred by it. By 2016, voters were still associating her with the Lewinsky scandal; making her a laughing stock.

Geraldine Ferraro (Democrat who ran for Vice President in 1984)

When it was first revealed that Ferraro was Walter Mondale’s choice for Vice President in 1983, very few women were in high-ranking positions in the US Government. There were no female governors and no woman from a major political party had been nominated to become the Vice President before. In the era of Second Wave Feminism, Ferraro’s nomination was perceived as a victory for women across the nation. Ferraro had plenty of political experience; she had served as a Congresswoman for New York for three terms. Walter Mondale chose her as his running mate as he believed that it would improve his position in the poles; a potential female Vice President would be a cause for excitement.

However, concern was raised about Ferraro’s financial records. She and her husband had committed tax avoidance, and had to pay the IRS back over $53,000. Whilst tax avoidance is not illegal, it is immoral. Given that politicians are supposed to represent ordinary people, it does not look good if they avoid paying for public services that could benefit the average citizen. The scandal ruined Ferraro’s reputation, and she would eventually fall into relative obscurity.

Mondale and Ferraro lost the election by a huge margin. They only won 13 electoral college votes, whereas Reagan and Bush won 525 electoral college votes. Mondale and Ferraro only received the majority of votes in one state, Mondale’s home state of Minnesota. Even though, they won by a margin of 3,800 votes. Whilst Ferraro experienced one of the biggest defeats in US election history, her nomination is still seen as a victory for women. She has inspired many other women to enter the world of politics, and proved to female voters that there are people in Congress who can represent them. If Ferraro was never picked as Mondale’s running mate, the path may have never been paved for the likes of Kamala Harris, who did succeed in becoming the Vice President in 2020.

Sarah Palin (Republican who ran for Vice President in 2008)

Sarah Palin had been the Governor of Alaska for about a year when John McCain chose her as his running mate. She was known for being fairly pragmatic; she cooperated with the Democrats to eliminate corrupt oil and gas industries with Alaska, and agreed that big businesses needed to pay higher taxes. However, she also had a reputation for being self-obsessed and as someone who held a grudge. Once somebody had upset her, she would refuse to cooperate with them ever again. McCain would come to regret choosing her as his Vice President; he believed that he had created a monster. Palin forgot her former pragmatic principles and came to despise anyone associated with the Democrats. She frequently launched verbal attacks against Barack Obama during the 2008 race and for years afterwards. She called him a liar and a “special kind of stupid”. McCain did not approve of these petty attacks, believing that professional politicians should not aim to completely alienate those from the opposite party.

 During the 2008 campaign, Palin frequently made herself a laughing stock. When asked about how she would deal with Russia, Palin stated that you can see Russia from Alaska. This statement is not actually untrue; some Russian islands are only a few miles away from Alaskan islands. But these islands are not very populated, and it was unlikely that Palin would have had a good view of Russia from where she lived. The statement drew ridicule from the public. Tina Fey famously impersonated her on Saturday Night Live, shouting “I can see Russia from my house!” The statement also demonstrated Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience, she did not come up with any viable suggestions on how the United States could contain Russia. She could not name a single paper that she read to keep up with international affairs, making herself seem incompetent. She did not help McCain like he thought she would; she was a burden instead.

Palin never became the Vice President. She and McCain lost the 2008 election to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The Republicans only won 173 electoral college votes, whilst the Democrats won 365 votes. Palin blamed Obama for her loss, and has since taken a turn for the hard right. She suddenly resigned from her role as Governor of Alaska in July 2009, and has turned to commentating. She endorsed Donald Trump in 2016, the kind of man that former running mate John McCain despised. Obama actually made a link between Palin and Trump, as both of them were reactionary populists who capitalised on the fact that America was becoming politically polarised. She still supports Trump in 2024, even after his criminal convictions. She believes that there is a witch hunt against him, and believes that he has committed no wrongdoing. Many believe that her reactionary outbursts and anti-Democrat sentiment paved the way for Donald Trump, and made the Republican Party what it is today.