Cold Open

It’s a crisp fall night in November of 1983.

Inside an apartment in Washington D.C., a small group of women sit on folding chairs, engaged in a lively discussion and surrounded by empty containers of Chinese take-out.

As usual, their conversation is centered on politics. Nicknamed “Team A,” these dinner guests are a cohort of some of the most influential and well-connected women in Washington. And tonight they’re on a mission.

As the country gears up for the 1984 presidential primaries, there are rumors that a candidate might select a woman as his running mate for the first time in American history. Team A is eager to make those whispers a reality. So for weeks, they’ve been meticulously studying the records of prominent women politicians, and they’ve finally landed on a candidate: Democratic congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, who is included in the group of women and just cracking into her fortune cookie. With a gentle twist, she breaks the cookie open, and the group of women fall silent, as Geraldine pulls out the paper message inside.

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise as she studies its prophecy which reads: “You will win big in ‘84.” Ferraro looks up to see her peers smiling and staring back at her, eagerly awaiting her response to the message they secretly planted.

Ferraro is quiet for a few seconds, thoughtfully surveying the expectant faces of the women in the room. Her mind races as she weighs her options. The prospect of abandoning her successful congressional career for such an uncertain venture is deeply daunting. Who knows whether America is ready for a woman to occupy one of its highest offices.

But Ferraro decides to set aside her apprehensions.

Team A bursts into cheers as the congresswoman slips the fortune into her handbag, and with a nod of assent, sets herself on track to make history.

Geraldine Ferraro will be both flabbergasted and flattered by the idea that she could become the country’s first female vice presidential candidate. Even after dinner with Team A, Ferraro will hold on to her skepticism, remaining dubious that their proposal could ever become a reality. But Ferraro’s doubts will soon be put to rest when, in a historic moment for American politics, presidential candidate Walter Mondale will name Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate on July 12th, 1984.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 12th, 1984: Geraldine Ferraro Becomes the First Woman to Run for US Vice President.

Act One

It’s the afternoon of July 12th, 1984, inside a crowded chamber tucked away in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Hordes of reporters and camera crews stream inside, filling the room and its overhanging galleries for a press conference by lawyer and former Vice President Walter Mondale. Mondale is the likely Democratic presidential nominee for the 1984 elections, and today, he’s slated to announce his running mate.

Over the past several weeks, Mondale has been interviewing potential candidates at his Minnesota home. And in the process, he’s attracted major media attention for considering some women politicians — a groundbreaking move for a major party candidate, but one that’s not entirely unexpected.

Four years ago, when Republican Ronald Reagan was elected president, exit polls revealed a small but significant disparity in the way men and women voted. In 1976, men and women fundamentally appeared to vote the same. But in 1980, data showed that the number of women who voted for Reagan was eight percent less than the number of men, indicating a growing gender gap.

This difference in political preferences, with women leaning toward Democratic candidates, has been duly noted by commentators and politicians, who are paying increasingly more attention to the new and powerful women’s voting bloc. Reagan, the popular Republican incumbent, is likely to run for a second term. And in Democratic circles, one of the ideas to edge him out is to capitalize on the gender gap by naming a female vice presidential candidate, a tactic that Walter Mondale seems more than open to.

So far, he has interviewed three women. And today, as the reporters wait in the galleries, news channels air profiles of the candidates and debate which one of them Mondale is likely to pick. Many expect it will be Geraldine Ferraro, who has emerged as a leading contender and is backed by numerous other notable politicians.

But as the press conference inches closer, the chamber grows charged with anticipation, filled with reporters ready for the announcement that will finally end their weeks of speculation. Murmurs ripple through the crowd as Walter Mondale steps into view, followed by thunderous applause as his new running mate trails behind him.

Broadcasters rush to relay the news live to their listeners.

"BROADCASTER: And it is Geraldine Ferraro. Because there’s Walter Mondale and just a step or two behind him is New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.”

The cheers in the room swell as the two politicians make their way to the stage together. Neither of them has said a single word, but history has already been made as Ferraro becomes the first female vice presidential candidate to run on a major party’s ticket.

From behind the podium, Mondale graciously waves, waiting for the applause to fade, before formally announcing Ferraro as his running mate. 

"MONDALE: I know what it takes to be a good vice president, I was once one myself. I looked for the best vice president, and I found her in Gerri Ferraro.”  

Ferraro breaks into a wide grin as Mondale introduces her to the waiting journalists in more detail, tracing the career that led her to this point.

Coming from a poor Italian-American family, Ferraro’s journey to politics started with night classes at a Manhattan law school, taken while working a day job as an elementary school teacher. After practicing law for over a decade, Ferraro was appointed the Assistant District Attorney for Queens in 1974. She was assigned to the Special Victims Bureau, responsible for prosecuting cases involving rape, abuse, and domestic violence. And when she ran for Congress four years later, she did so on a platform supporting law and order, with the campaign slogan, “Finally, a tough Democrat.”  Since then, she’s served three terms as a member of the House of Representatives, but now Ferraro is ready to take on a new job, one that once felt impossible to reach.

When the idea of a female vice presidential nominee was floated at the National Women's Political Caucus a few months ago, Ferraro candidly wrote it off as unlikely. Less than five percent of Congress members are women — and that’s just one of the many statistics she can point to, that demonstrates women’s underrepresentation in American politics. So, despite her experience and proven leadership, Ferraro dismissed the possibility. But with the encouragement and support of Team A and Walter Mondale, she’s overjoyed to have been proved wrong.

As Mondale concludes his speech, Ferraro steps up to the podium, beaming as she begins her first public address as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

"FERRARO: Thank you Vice President Mondale - Vice President... and it has such a nice ring to it.”

With Mondale’s announcement, he and Ferraro’s campaign for the White House will begin in earnest. But being the first woman to run for vice president will come with as much challenge as honor. Despite her best efforts to win the hearts of voters across the country, Ferraro will find herself under intense scrutiny which will soon send her political career into a tailspin.

Act Two

It’s July 19th, 1984, at a convention center in San Francisco.

In a room behind the main stage, Geraldine Ferraro paces back and forth while a senior party member enthusiastically introduces her to a roaring crowd.

The Democratic Convention, in which candidates will be officially nominated for the 1984 presidential election, is underway. And while primary elections now determine nominees, the convention remains a significant ceremonial event. Earlier today, thousands of delegates affirmed Ferraro's vice presidential nomination. And now, the crowd chants her name, eagerly awaiting the esteemed congresswoman's speech.

As a door creaks open, Ferraro swings around to see a campaign aide poke his head through the gap, signaling her to go on stage. As Ferraro walks out, the audience erupts again into cheers. Smiling and waving, she waits for the excitement to subside, before beginning a passionate address, rallying for equality and celebrating the significance of her nomination.

"FERRARO: By choosing a woman to run for our nation’s second highest office, you sent a powerful signal to all Americans. There are no doors we cannot unlock.”

Ferraro's speech at the Democratic Convention is a resounding success, thrusting her into the national political spotlight. But not only attention is positive. Despite years of congressional experience, the press challenges Ferraro's competence. Her detractors question her readiness and her qualifications, suggesting that she may have been chosen solely for symbolic purposes rather than for her abilities.

"JOURNALIST: If you weren’t a woman, do you think you would have been selected?"

"FERRARO: If I weren't a woman, I don't think I'd have had the opportunity that I've had in Congress to do as much as I've done. Well, there's some negatives to it too, I mean it's not all positive, that’s a double-edged sword. I don't know if I were not a woman if I would be judged in the same way in my candidacy, whether or not I'd be asked questions like, you know, are you strong enough to push the button or, you know, that type."

"JOURNALIST: Well, that is the kind of question that we have asked on this program…"

When being quizzed on matters such as foreign policy and nuclear strategy, interviewers often question whether the Soviets and other governments will be tempted to take advantage of Ferraro, because she is a woman. Frequently, the media’s inquiries are less related to the vice presidency, as journalists question things like why Ferraro uses her maiden name, and how she plans to take care of her children while in office.

But Ferraro does her best to gracefully navigate the volley of affronts, encouraged by the many Americans who do support her candidacy. Despite the challenges and pushback, Ferraro generates significant enthusiasm among many women and advocates for gender equality. She draws large crowds of supporters on the campaign trail, many of them young activists anxious to see her spearhead an era of change in American politics. Ferraro’s rising popularity briefly boosts the Democrats' lagging polls. But by the last week of July 1984, serious questions emerge regarding Ferraro's finances, which prove detrimental to the Democratic presidential campaign.

As a member of Congress, Ferraro was required to file annual financial disclosure statements. Claiming she kept her finances separate from her husband’s, Ferraro opted not to disclose her husband's business interests. But after digging deeper into the matter, journalists uncover irregularities and questionable transactions, including fines paid for large loans Ferraro took from her husband to fund past campaigns.

After much back and forth, Ferraro decides to publicly disclose the couple's last six tax returns. The next day, she holds a grueling press conference, enduring hours of tough questions from hundreds of journalists who challenge her integrity and probe into her husband’s business dealings.

"FERRARO: I feel very very strongly about ethics in government. I also feel that a look at my record over the past five and a half years that I have represented the Ninth Congressional District would indicate that at no time did I violate any trust that was placed in me by my constituents and that I have always acted as a member of Congress in the best of public interest. So, with that said, why don't I take your questions and see if we can clear up whatever else is outstanding?

But despite Ferraro’s best efforts at damage control, no issue in the 1984 presidential election will receive more media attention than her finances. As the press frenzy continues, the Democratic campaign quickly loses its momentum, suffering defeat while Ronald Reagan and his Vice President George H.W. Bush win in a landslide victory.

Following her disappointing loss, Ferraro will pursue a diverse set of endeavors. She relinquished her House seat in order to campaign for vice president, and after her defeat, she will found a political action committee that will help fund and support other Democratic and women candidates in the coming Congressional elections. She will author a best-selling book about her life and co-host a political talk show on CNN. A few years later, President Bill Clinton will appoint her as one of America's delegates to the UN Commission on Human Rights.

But Ferraro will never be able to shake her husband’s financial controversies, which will see him plead guilty in 1985, to a misdemeanor charge of fraud in a real estate deal. And despite several later runs, Geraldine Ferraro will never hold elected office again. But her candidacy will be viewed as a positive step toward gender equality, paving the way for future female politicians who will carry out Ferraro’s foiled ambitions.

Act Three

It’s 11:30 AM on January 20th, 2021, at the 59th presidential inauguration ceremony at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.

A hush falls over the crowd as a series of speeches and performances come to an end, allowing the vice-president elect to take the oath of office and make history in the process.

Despite the promise of Geraldine Ferraro’s candidacy almost four decades prior, it has proved difficult for any female candidates to reach the nation’s second-highest office. After Ferraro’s failed 1984 campaign, it took over twenty years before another woman ran for vice president. But a decade after her passing, Ferraro’s dream is about to be realized.

Twelve years on from Republican nominee Sarah Palin’s failed bid, Democratic Senator Kamala Harris became the nation’s third woman to run for vice president on a major ticket, joining the campaign of former vice president Joe Biden. After emerging victorious against incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence, Kamala Harris is now set to finally achieve what Ferraro attempted long ago.

Stepping up to the podium, Senator Amy Klobuchar beams with pride as she welcomes Harris to the stage.

"SENATOR KLOBUCHAR: “To administer the oath to our first African-American, our first Asian-American, and our first woman vice president, Kamala Harris, it is my great privilege to welcome to the inaugural stage, the first Latina to ever serve on the Supreme Court of the United States of America, Justice Sonia Sotomayor.”

On Justice Sotomayor’s instruction, Harris raises her right hand and rests the other on bibles held by her husband, now the nation’s first-ever Second Gentleman. As she solemnly repeats the words of the oath, Harris completes her ascent to the vice presidency, fulfilling a revolutionary dream that began decades earlier, when Walter Mondale named Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate on July 12th, 1984.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 13th, 1985. The benefit concert Live Aid is held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia, drawing in over a billion televised viewers and raising millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Katrina Zemrak.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Rhea Purohit.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.