Will a Woman Ever Be President?

"As they parsed the results of an election that had shown a drift toward Mr. Trump among nearly every voter demographic group, Democrats were soul-searching on Wednesday, questioning how much Ms. Harris’s gender factored into her loss.

“I think it all mattered,” said Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party. “Race, gender, city, rural, etc. We’ve run a battleground strategy for 20 years. It’s not working.”

I really don't care.

I don't care either. If this was an important issue for women it would have happened by now.

It feels like the first woman is going to have to happen through succession rather than being elected. After that, though, hopefully we can finally get over it and actually elect a woman.

Not in my lifetime.

Many men have lost elections but it wasn't solely attributed to being a male. Give it a rest. We will have a female president in the next 20 years. She will probably be a republican. There have only been 2 women up for president (for the top two parties) and we have had a female VP right now.

After Catholic Al Smith lost in 1928, it took another 32 years, & a phenomenon like JFK, for Catholics to break the glass ceiling. After both Hillary & Kamala, it will, other than the possibility of succession, at least that many years for women. If for no other reason than that the parties will be spooked by the prospect of nominating a woman.

Not as long as stupid Gen X is around

I thought we would have already had one by now with a Thatcher or Sandra Day O'Connor type being the first followed later by women of other political persuasions.

Agree with R9. The first female president will likely be a postmenopausal conservative lady. Someone who looks and acts like Jessica Fletcher, but with hardline Republican views.

Such a person, R10, will still have to deal with the overt misogyny of the growing Latino vote.

Republicans might go for that, but MAGA is not going to accept a woman leader.

Yes, in the New United States, after the civil war, Mad Max-style aftermath, and eventual reunification. In about 150 years from now, I reckon. By then, most Rethugs in the Deep South will have been eaten by the cannibal gangs migrating out of New Mexico and Texas.

Timing is everything. Yes, Hillary Clinton lost while being female. Yes, Kamala Harris lost while being female.

But let’s look more broadly at the question of “When do Democrats tend to win?”

Bill Clinton won in ‘92 when voters were tired of the poor economy under GHW Bush and tired of 12 long years of GOP presidency.

Barack Obama won in ‘08 when voters were alarmed by the economic meltdown at the end of Bush-Cheney, and tired of 8 years of Bush-Cheney.

Joe Biden won in ‘20 when voters were traumatized by Covid and the related collapse of the economy — and though it had only been 4 years of Trump, he had a way of making it feel like 8.

We win when voters have had the actual taste of GOP leadership in their mouths and are wanting to spit it out. Run a qualified woman as D nominee in those circumstances and she is quite likely to win. Hillary tried to be a continuation of 8 Obama years, and she suffered a similar fate as her husband’s former Veep in 2000 after 8 Clinton years. Kamala tried to be the continuation of the Biden-Harris presidency while his approval rating was atrocious (-15!) and voters are still hurting and feeling financially insecure from the 2022 inflation spike and other economic pressures on the non-wealthy.

Bad timing. Give a woman like Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris a shot at the US Presidency with the kind of timing enjoyed by Bill, Barack and Joe. Then we can talk.

There isn’t. going to be another president

Only if both candidates are women….

Non-college educated, straight ,white males between 25 to 50 were a disenfranchised demographic. They viewed Kamala Harris's candidacy as affirmative action based upon how the Biden situation was handled. A solid moderate leaning Republican female is the best chance. Liz Cheney.

Yes. But unless the democrats stop ignoring men and only making women a priority (or being outright anti male in some cases) she'd have to be republican

Do you seriously imagine the MAGA party nominating a woman, R18? And a Republican woman cannot be elected in a general race if she cannot secure her party’s nomination.

They loved Sarah Palin. They will vote for a republican woman especially if she is attractive like those fox news anchors.

Sarah Palin is too damaged now, paradoxically, but in future a woman as stupid as her could very well get the nomination. I mean, at this point, do we worry about Marjorie Taylor Greene or Boebert? What's to disqualify them now?

R19 far more conservative parties have voted for women candidates in the past.

Yep. Nothing gets republican men harder than an attractive, even fairly attractive strict republican milf type. She'd win in a landslide (and so would conservative women)

Maybe a Condi Rice or Madeleine Albright type: someone brisk, reserved, and no-nonsense who naturally commands respect, exudes little or no vulnerability, and is completely comfortable around men (and therefore also doesn't make those dear men feel uncomfortable).

Women like Angela Merkel, Margaret Thatcher, and (way back) Golda Meir transcended their gender and were seen as strong leaders first and female second. Their type is rare, though (feminists used to refer to this type as "exceptional women" - which actually carried negative connotations).

Democrats should just go back to a southern middle aged white guy for POTUS. GQP will probably get the first woman President-dog killer Kristi Noem or former Hooter's waitress Lara Trump. If Elon and Theil want one of these gals, they'll adjust the algorithm and the rubes will follow along.