In 1984, the Democratic Party nominee for vice president was Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to appear on the presidential ballot for a major political party. Ms. Ferraro, who died Saturday at age 75 of multiple myeloma, wasn’t much help that year to the Democratic ticket, headed by Minnesota senator Walter Mondale. The Democrats went down to defeat in 49 of 50 states, including Ms. Ferraro’s native New York. And she failed to garner a larger women’s vote than President Carter had four years earlier.
Her confident campaigning set a precedent that a woman could credibly campaign for one of the highest offices in the land. But it was a quarter century before women would once again mount White House runs. More.