It’s been a wild few years in American politics. If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you know the vibe has shifted. We went from the "Year of the Woman" back in 1992 to a 2024 election that felt like a total collision course between gender, identity, and the economy. Honestly, looking at the list of female US presidential candidates, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. We’ve seen historical breakthroughs and some pretty crushing defeats that no one really saw coming until the exit polls started rolling in.
Basically, the story of women running for president isn't just about Kamala Harris or Hillary Clinton. It’s a way longer, weirder, and more complicated history.
The 2024 Reality Check: Harris, Haley, and the Numbers
Everyone thought 2024 was going to be the year the glass ceiling finally shattered into a million pieces. Vice President Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket after Joe Biden stepped aside in July 2024. She wasn't just a candidate; she was the sitting VP, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian person to lead a major party ticket. She pulled in over 75 million votes.
But it wasn't enough.
Donald Trump took the win with 312 electoral votes to her 226. What’s kinda surprising is how the "women’s vote" actually broke down. You’d think women would flock to a female candidate, right? Well, not exactly. According to AP VoteCast data from early 2025, Harris won female voters by about six percentage points, but that was a much smaller margin than Biden’s 15-point lead in 2020 or even Hillary Clinton’s 13-point lead in 2016.
🔗 Read more: January 6th Explained: Why This Date Still Defines American Politics
Then there was Nikki Haley.
Before the general election even started, Haley was making waves on the Republican side. She was the first big-name challenger to Trump and the first Indian-American woman to win a GOP primary (she took D.C. and Vermont). She ran on this "new generation of leadership" platform. She eventually dropped out in March 2024, but her 4.3 million primary votes showed there’s a massive chunk of the GOP looking for something different.
A Long History of "Firsts" (That Most People Forget)
Most people think this all started with Ferraro or Clinton. Nope.
Victoria Woodhull was out here running for president in 1872. That’s nearly 50 years before women even had the legal right to vote! She ran on the Equal Rights Party ticket. She was 33, which technically made her too young to serve anyway, but she did it to make a point.
💡 You might also like: Is there a bank holiday today? Why your local branch might be closed on January 12
- Belva Ann Lockwood (1884 & 1888): She was the first woman to actually appear on official ballots. She claimed she got over 4,000 votes, though she suspected some "funny business" with the counting in Pennsylvania.
- Margaret Chase Smith (1964): A total powerhouse from Maine. She was the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency at a major party convention (Republican).
- Shirley Chisholm (1972): "Unbought and Unbossed." She was the first Black woman to run for a major party nomination. She brought 151.25 delegate votes to the DNC. People didn't take her seriously at the time, but she changed the blueprint forever.
Third-Party Trailblazers
While the Democrats and Republicans get the spotlight, third-party female US presidential candidates have been grinding for decades.
- Jill Stein (Green Party): She’s been a staple in 2012, 2016, and again in 2024. In 2016, she grabbed 1.5 million votes. In 2024, she stayed on the ballot, pulling about 860,000 votes.
- Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian): In 2020, she secured nearly 1.9 million votes. That's a huge number for a candidate outside the "Big Two."
- Lenora Fulani: Back in 1988, she was the first woman and first African American to get on the ballot in all 50 states.
Why the "Women's Vote" is a Myth
If we learned anything from the 2024 results, it’s that women are not a monolith. At all.
You’ve got "Mama Bears" who are deeply socially conservative and prioritized the economy and immigration. Then you’ve got younger voters where abortion was the #1 issue—nearly 40% of women under 30 cited it as their top concern.
White women have actually voted for the Republican candidate in almost every election for the last 70 years. The only exceptions were 1964 and 1996. In 2024, they went for Trump again, though Harris did slightly better with them than Biden did. Meanwhile, Latina women shifted toward the right significantly in 2024, which really caught the Harris campaign off guard.
📖 Related: Is Pope Leo Homophobic? What Most People Get Wrong
The "Secret" Stats: Primary Popular Votes
If you want to see who actually moved the needle, look at the primary numbers. It shows the depth of support before the general election machinery takes over.
- Hillary Clinton (2008): 17.8 million votes (and she lost the nomination to Obama).
- Hillary Clinton (2016): 16.9 million votes (won the nomination).
- Nikki Haley (2024): 4.3 million votes.
- Elizabeth Warren (2020): 2.7 million votes.
It’s a massive jump from the days when Margaret Chase Smith was considered a "radical" for getting 227,000 votes.
What's Next for 2028 and Beyond?
The 2024 election was a gut check. Some pundits say the "identity politics" era is cooling off, while others argue that the groundwork laid by Harris and Haley makes a female president inevitable.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, keep an eye on these names:
- Gretchen Whitmer: The Michigan Governor who has a "no-nonsense" vibe that plays well in the Rust Belt.
- Elise Stefanik: A high-ranking Republican who has become a major force in the party.
- Katie Porter: Known for her whiteboard and her ability to break down complex math—she’s got a loyal following.
Next Steps for the Politically Curious:
- Check your local representation: The "pipeline" for a female president starts at the state level. Look up how many women are in your state legislature.
- Read the exit polls: Don't just look at the headlines. Sites like the American Communities Project break down why different groups of women voted the way they did.
- Follow the funding: Watch the "OpenSecrets" data for the 2026 midterms to see which female candidates are attracting the most small-dollar donations—that's usually where the momentum starts.
The list of female US presidential candidates keeps growing, and while the top spot is still held by men, the margins are getting thinner and the candidates are getting tougher. It’s not a matter of "if" anymore, but a very complicated "when."