Honestly, if you've been watching the news lately, it’s easy to feel like the 2024 election was just a rematch between the same old faces. But that’s not the whole story. Not by a long shot. If you’re asking what woman is running for president 2024, you’re actually looking at a year where several women didn't just "run"—they fundamentally shifted the conversation in ways we haven’t seen since 2016.
The 2024 cycle was a wild ride. We saw history-making nominations, late-night campaign pivots, and candidates who refused to leave the stage even when the math looked impossible.
The Kamala Harris Factor: From Vice President to Nominee
Let's start with the biggest name on the ballot. Kamala Harris didn't just run for president; she became the Democratic nominee in one of the most unprecedented handoffs in American political history.
After President Joe Biden stepped aside in July 2024, Harris stepped into the spotlight almost overnight. She wasn't just some placeholder. She secured the nomination officially by August 6, 2024, becoming the second woman ever—and the first Black and South Asian woman—to lead a major party ticket.
Her campaign was fast. It was loud. It was basically a sprint. She leaned heavily into protecting reproductive rights, an issue that's been a massive lightning rod since Roe v. Wade was overturned. She even became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion clinic during the campaign. While the final results in November 2024 saw her lose to Donald Trump in the Electoral College (226 to 312), she still pulled in over 75 million votes.
It's kinda wild when you think about the pressure of launching a national campaign with only about 100 days to go.
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Nikki Haley and the Republican Shake-up
Then you've got Nikki Haley. If you’re a Republican or even a moderate independent, you likely saw her as the primary alternative to the Trump juggernaut.
Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina and U.N. Ambassador, was the first major candidate to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. She stayed in the race way longer than most people expected, surviving long after big names like Ron DeSantis dropped out.
She actually made history, too. By winning the District of Columbia and Vermont primaries, she became the first woman to ever win a Republican presidential primary. She wasn't just a "protest" candidate; she was a legitimate contender who pulled in over 4 million votes during the primaries.
She focused a lot on "new generational leadership." Basically, her vibe was: "The 20th-century politicians are done, let’s move on." She eventually suspended her campaign in March 2024 after Super Tuesday, but the fact that she hung on that long showed there was a real appetite for a different kind of Republican woman in the White House.
The Outsiders: Jill Stein and Marianne Williamson
But wait, the list of what woman is running for president 2024 doesn't end with the two biggest parties. There were others who had a major impact on the margins.
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- Jill Stein (Green Party): She’s a familiar face for many. This was her third time running for president. Stein focused hard on the "pro-worker, anti-war, climate emergency" platform. She actually did surprisingly well with certain groups, like Muslim voters in Michigan who were frustrated with the mainstream options. She ended up with about 0.5% of the popular vote—which doesn't sound like much until you realize how close those swing states were.
- Marianne Williamson (Democrat): Talk about persistence. Williamson’s campaign was a bit of a roller coaster. She entered the race, withdrew, re-entered, withdrew again, and then re-entered one more time. She was running on what she called "The Politics of Love" and a 21st-century Economic Bill of Rights. Even though she didn't get the nomination, she served as a progressive voice that kept pushing the Democratic platform toward things like universal healthcare and reparations.
Why 2024 Was Different for Women Candidates
It’s easy to look at the final map and think nothing changed. But the 2024 election proved that a woman running for president is no longer a "novelty." It's the norm.
We saw women leading both ends of the ideological spectrum. You had Jill Stein on the far left and Nikki Haley representing the more traditional conservative wing. Then you had Kamala Harris right in the middle of the storm.
Diverse Perspectives on the Issues
Each of these women brought something unique to the table. Take a look at how their priorities differed:
- Harris focused on the "Blue Wall" states and abortion access.
- Haley talked about the national debt and a "tough on China" foreign policy.
- Stein hammered home the need for a "Green New Deal" and an immediate ceasefire in international conflicts.
- Williamson focused on the "moral center" of the country and issues like child poverty.
There was no "monolithic" woman candidate. They were as different from each other as they were from the men in the race.
What the Numbers Actually Tell Us
If we look at the 2024 data, the "gender gap" in voting was still huge, but it moved in weird ways. Women generally favored Harris by about 7 points, but Trump actually made small gains with certain groups of women compared to 2020.
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It turns out, being a woman candidate doesn't automatically mean you get every woman's vote. People are complicated. They care about the economy, immigration, and their own wallets just as much as—or more than—the gender of the person on the bumper sticker.
What Most People Get Wrong About These Campaigns
A lot of folks think that if a woman doesn't win, the campaign was a failure. That's kinda shortsighted.
Think about Nikki Haley. Even though she didn't win the nomination, she proved that a woman of color could be a viable, top-tier candidate in the Republican party. That's a massive shift from even ten years ago.
And Harris? She showed that you could consolidate a fractured party in less than a week. The fundraising numbers alone were insane—$81 million in the first 24 hours. That doesn't happen unless there's a serious infrastructure and real enthusiasm behind a female leader.
Actionable Insights: What This Means for the Future
If you're following the trajectory of women in politics, here’s what you should keep an eye on:
- Down-Ballot Momentum: While the presidency is the big prize, 2024 saw hundreds of women running for the House and Senate. The "Harris effect" helped funnel $25 million into these down-ballot races.
- Primary Power: Nikki Haley’s success suggests the GOP is slowly changing. Watch for more conservative women to use her "generational change" playbook in 2028.
- Third-Party Influence: Candidates like Jill Stein aren't going away. They continue to act as "spoilers" or "conscience candidates," forcing major parties to address issues they’d rather ignore.
- Policy over Identity: The 2024 results suggest that "identity politics" is losing its grip. Future women candidates will likely focus less on "making history" and more on "making things affordable."
The 2024 election might be over, but the path these women carved out is still there. Whether it was at the top of the ticket or a long-shot primary bid, they’ve ensured that the question isn't if a woman will be president, but which one will finally break that last glass ceiling.
If you want to stay informed on the next wave of leadership, start looking at the governors and senators who are already positioning themselves for 2028. Many of them are the same women who helped lead the charge this year.