Gender and Elections

When Shirley Chisholm ran for and won her seat in the 12th congressional district in New York in 1968, she did so without support from the Democratic Party. Undeterred by her party’s snub, Representative Chisholm joined the crowded field of Democrats who sought the party’s nomination for president in 1972. Though she failed to secure the nomination that eventually went to George McGovern, Chisholm received over 150 delegate votes – about 10 percent of the total votes. Chisholm would serve through seven Congresses, during which she served as a founding member for both the Congressional Black Caucus (1971) and the Congressional Women’s Caucus (1977). Like many women who have sought elected office without party support, Chisholm found her own way to political power and drew on her own counsel to other women: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Given the lackluster efforts from both parties to recruit women candidates as well as the candidate-centered nature of campaigns in the United States, women’s organizations and political action committees have served as a figurative “folding chair” for women to gain entry to a place at the table of elected office.