The women who have run for president include Victoria Woodhull (1872), Margaret Chase Smith (1964), Shirley Chisholm (1972), Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. The list below is chronological rather than ranked, because each campaign broke a different barrier.
These campaigns are one thread in the wider story of women in politics. Use the quick picks to find the campaign that matches your question, then read the detail for each woman.
Quick picks and selection criteria
The REP Project counts more than 130 women who have made serious bids for the presidency since Woodhull’s campaign. This list keeps to the women whose campaigns marked a documented first or a clear milestone. Each entry gives the year, the party or vehicle, the result where a figure exists, and what the campaign is best used to illustrate.
- Earliest campaign: Victoria Woodhull, the answer to “who was the first woman to run for president”.
- First at a major-party convention: Margaret Chase Smith, the best fit if your question is about major-party nominations.
- Clearest delegate strategy: Shirley Chisholm, whose convention bloc is the best-documented influence on later campaigns.
- Broadest primary reach: Hillary Clinton, who ran in every state’s primary or caucus in her first bid and later led a major-party ticket.
- Highest office held: Kamala Harris, the first woman vice president and a later major-party nominee.
Women presidential candidates in order
Victoria Woodhull, 1872, Equal Rights Party
Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for U.S. president, in 1872. The Equal Rights Party nominated her, with abolitionist Frederick Douglass as its vice-presidential choice. She had announced her run much earlier, on April 2, 1870, by sending a notice to the New York Herald.
Her opponents were Ulysses S. Grant for the Republicans and Horace Greeley for the Democrats. Presidents must be 35 years of age, and the museum account notes she would have been only 34, so she fell short of the constitutional minimum. Her run suits readers who want the origin of the idea. It is better read as a statement of principle than as a contest she could have won.
Margaret Chase Smith, 1964, Republican
Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to run for a major party nomination. She declared her candidacy for the Republican nomination in January 1964. With 27 delegates at the Republican convention, the museum’s account says she became the first woman nominated for president by a major party. She received 227,007 popular votes (3.84%), but she lost every primary she entered.
Her campaign suits anyone tracing when women first appeared on a major-party convention floor. Her results show that being nominated at a convention and winning delegates in primaries were different measures in 1964.
Shirley Chisholm, 1972, Democratic
Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman to run for a major party’s nomination, using the slogan “Unbought and Unbossed”. According to the National Women’s History Museum story, she appeared on the primary ballots in 12 states. She received 152 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention in Miami, Florida.
The same account says her strategy of bringing a bloc of voters to the convention has influenced campaign strategies to the present. That lasting influence, more than the delegate count, is what her campaign achieved. Her 152 delegate votes are the largest delegate figure in this list’s verified results, and well above Smith’s 27.
Patsy Mink, 1972
Patsy Mink was the first Asian-American woman to run for president, in her 1972 campaign. Her run belongs on any list that tracks which communities saw a candidate like themselves for the first time. It also shows that 1972 produced more than one barrier-breaking campaign.
Hillary Clinton, 2008 and 2016
Hillary Clinton’s 2008 bid made her the first woman to run in the primary or caucus of every state. No woman had ever been nominated by a major party for the presidency at that point. She and Barack Obama each received over 17 million votes during the nomination process. That makes 2008 the best example in this list of a woman competing at full national scale in a primary.
In 2016 she became the first woman to represent a major party in the general election. She did not win the election, but she did win the popular vote. Smith was placed in nomination at a convention, whereas Clinton was the first to head a major-party general-election ticket. Keep those two firsts separate when you cite either.
Kamala Harris, vice president and 2024 nominee
In January 2021, Kamala Harris became the first woman, Black person, or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. The same source calls it the highest position ever held by a woman in the United States. She later became the first Black woman and first person of South Asian heritage to serve as a major party’s nominee. She lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump.
Her record fits readers asking about the first woman vice president, a role distinct from a presidential run. It also shows how far a woman has now advanced in the executive branch.
Campaigns compared at a glance
| Candidate | Year | Party or vehicle | Documented result | Planning use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Woodhull | 1872 | Equal Rights Party | Nominated with Frederick Douglass as vice-presidential choice | Cite for the first woman to run |
| Margaret Chase Smith | 1964 | Republican | 27 delegates at the convention; 227,007 popular votes (3.84%) | Cite for the first woman to run for a major party nomination |
| Shirley Chisholm | 1972 | Democratic | On primary ballots in 12 states; 152 delegate votes at the convention | Cite for the first Black woman to seek a major party nomination |
| Hillary Clinton | 2016 | Major party nominee | Won the popular vote but not the election | Cite for the first woman to represent a major party in a general election |
| Kamala Harris | 2021 (vice president); 2024 (nominee) | Major party nominee in 2024 | First woman vice president, January 2021 | Cite for the highest office held by a woman |
Figures come from the REP Project overview and the National Women’s History Museum story.
Why no woman has won the presidency
The record above points to a sequence of barriers lowering in stages rather than a single cause. The first obstacle was formal: Woodhull’s age put her below the constitutional minimum of 35. The next was access to the major parties. The museum account places Smith as the first woman nominated at a major-party convention in 1964. Before that year, no woman had been nominated by a major party for the presidency.
The latest barrier is the general election itself. Clinton led a major-party ticket and won the popular vote without winning the election. Harris, the highest-ranking woman in US history as vice president, lost in 2024. That pattern suggests the remaining gap is in general-election outcomes rather than in candidates reaching the ballot.
Two details connect this list to other guides. Woodhull ran through a third party, which is the situation covered in running for office as an independent. Chisholm, Mink and Harris each broke a first for women of color, a theme explored in women of color in politics.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the first woman to run for president?
Victoria Woodhull ran in 1872 for the Equal Rights Party, according to the REP Project. Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to run for a major party nomination, in 1964.
Who was the first woman vice president?
Kamala Harris took office in January 2021 as the first woman to serve as vice president, per the REP Project. It is the highest position ever held by a woman in the United States.
How many women have made serious bids for the presidency?
The REP Project counts more than 130 women with serious bids since Woodhull. This article profiles only those with documented milestones.
Could women run for president before they could vote?
Yes. The National Women’s History Museum notes that women ran for president long before women were allowed to vote for the president.
