Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman on a major-party presidential ticket.

Thirty-four years ago this week, Walter Mondale made a major decision. Walter Mondale was the U.S. vice president in the Carter administration, as well as a former senator, and ambas- sador. He was also the Democratic candidate for president in 1984. Mondale knew he had a difficult race ahead, and needed to make some waves. His opponent in the election was Ronald Reagan, who was running for re-election. So, on July 19th, 1984, he made history with the nomination of his running mate: U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York. This made her the first woman to be the vice-presidential candidate on a major-party presidential ticket in the U.S.

Heading into the campaign, Rep. Ferraro was 48 years old. After working her way through law school as a schoolteacher, she became a successful district attorney. Since 1978, she had repre- sented New York’s 9th District, located in the borough of Queens. Many Democrats thought she gave the ticket some urban feistiness and grit. They also thought that her presence in the race would help draw women voters to the polls.

Unfortunately, Ferraro’s presence in the campaign did not help Mondale or the Democrats. Much of the press cycle was taken up with questions about why Ferraro’s husband, John Zac- caro, had not released his tax statements. But this distraction didn’t really matter, as Reagan was at the height of his popularity, and Mondale ran a weak campaign against him. The elec- tion in 1984 was one of the most lopsided in U.S. history. Mondale and Ferraro only won 13 electoral votes, in Minnesota and the District of Columbia.