originally presidential candidates were selected by party caucuses in congress
Congressional nominating caucus The system was introduced after George Washington had announced his retirement upon the end of his second term, when the Democratic-Republican Party, and Federalist Party began contesting elections on a partisan basis. Both parties may have held informal caucuses in 1796 to try to decide on their candidates. After the disorganized electoral voting of 1796, both parties held formal caucuses in 1800 that selected their respective presidential candidates (prior to the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804 each party ran two presidential candidates). The Federalists secretly held their caucus in early May, but later made their ticket of President John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney public. The Democratic-Republicans also secretly met in May, and agreed to equally support Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr for president. The Federalists did not hold another caucus after 1800.[1]
List of female United States presidential and vice-presidential candidates The first woman considered for a major party presidential candidacy by an incumbent president was Oveta Hobby, by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower encouraged Hobby to run in 1960, but she declined.[2] In 1964, Margaret Chase Smith announced her candidacy for the Republican Party nomination, becoming the first female candidate for a major party's nomination. She qualified for the ballot in six state primaries, and came in second in the Illinois primary, receiving 25% of the vote. She became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency at a major political party's convention.[3] In 1968, Charlene Mitchell became the first African American woman to run for president, and the first to receive valid votes in a general election. She qualified for the ballot in two states, winning 1,075 votes.[4] In 1972, Shirley Chisholm became the first black candidate for a major party's presidential nomination, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's nomination.[5] Tonie Nathan, the Libertarian Party's vice-presidential candidate in 1972, became the first woman to receive an electoral vote, via faithless elector Roger MacBride.[6] In the 1988 presidential election, Lenora Fulani and her running mate Joyce Dattner became the first women to achieve ballot access in all fifty states.[7] Fulani was also the first African American to do so. In the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to win a presidential primary, and the first to be listed as a presidential candidate in every primary and caucus nationwide.[8] Despite losing the nomination in a close race against Barack Obama, Clinton won more votes in 2008 than any primary candidate in American history.