# How long will it be before the U.S. elects a female President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 22, 2017, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204 "2017-05-22T11:12:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/1 "2017-05-22T11:12:01Z")
The subject says it all. What are your predictions? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/2 "2017-05-22T11:20:24Z")
I say 2040 or later, not because the American voter has anything against female candidates so much as that when I think of the top 10 candidates for President in 2020, 9 are male, and when I think of the young up and comers they are mostly male as well. Some people treat not having had a female President yet as some sort of oddity, but we also haven’t had an Italian President, a Jewish President, a Latino President, or an Asian President. The idea of electing someone who wasn’t an Anglo-Saxon is a pretty recent phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/3 "2017-05-22T11:25:48Z")
If you had asked about African American Presidents in 2005, I wonder what the poll results would have been. Who knows, maybe there is a female Obama somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/4 "2017-05-22T11:33:08Z")
There isn’t any that I know of, and that’s part of the problem. There also aren’t many female candidates with the level of experience of their likely male opponents. So you’re behind on charisma, plus behind on experience, what’s your winning argument? “Because I"m a woman” hasn’t worked even on female voters. With the political demise of Hillary Clinton, Nikki Haley probably is the most qualified female now. But I’m not sure she’d be a match for anyone in the likely Democratic field unless they pick a less qualified woman just because. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/5 "2017-05-22T11:55:35Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > If you had asked about African American Presidents in 2005, I wonder what the poll results would have been. > > Who knows, maybe there is a female Obama somewhere? There is. Her first name is Michelle. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/6 "2017-05-22T11:57:28Z")
Women who are factors only because of the accomplishments of their husbands don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/7 "2017-05-22T12:04:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > There isn’t any that I know of, and that’s part of the problem. There also aren’t many female candidates with the level of experience of their likely male opponents. Given recent history, I’m not sure how much experience helps win Presidential elections. But for what it’s worth, there are two women in my state with a combined 40 years in the U.S. Senate. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/8 "2017-05-22T12:06:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Women who are factors only because of the accomplishments of their husbands don’t count. I’m pretty sure **John** wasn’t suggesting Michelle would run, but only that she is, in fact, a “female Obama”. Off the top of my head, I can think of a couple more. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/9 "2017-05-22T12:08:30Z")
I’ve no idea who it’d be, but I think more of America wants to vote for a female president than wants to specifically not vote for a female president (just not Hillary Clinton), so XX genes would be a net advantage. As such I expect credible female frontrunners on both side of the line in every election, and at least one to break through by 2028. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/10 "2017-05-22T12:08:54Z")
Feinstein and Boxer I assume? Experience, as with any attribute, matters as much as you promote it well, plus the mood of the electorate. Obviously it does no good in a change election, but all else being equal it helps. It matters even more in primaries. With no women seen as obvious heir apparents, any woman running for President will have to beat more experienced and probably more charismatic men in her own party. I just don’t see that happening with any of the current field of women. A general election might have a different dynamic, but in the primaries where does a Liz Warren or Amy Klobuchar fit in? Warren has an ideological niche, but that almost never wins primaries, and Klobuchar has nothing to distinguish herself other than her gender. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/11 "2017-05-22T12:28:00Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Feinstein and Boxer I assume? Couple states north of that actually: [Patty Murray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Murray) (elected in 1992) and [Maria Cantwell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cantwell) (elected in 2000 – plus one term in House in the early '90s.) I was actually surprised to learn how long they’ve both been in the Senate. I’ve only lived here a few years myself. (I moved here from Michigan – home of another 20-year veteran of Congress, [Debbie Stabenow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Stabenow)). ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/12 "2017-05-22T12:31:17Z")
This is America, so Ivanka will be the first female president. Haha, just kidding, that won’t happen. Although, she is blonde, rich, photogenic, can talk at length without saying anything, somehow makes liberals praise her for being reasonable, and she’s six feet tall. Uh oh. Or there will never be a female president. In a couple decades everyone will be cybernetic spiders. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/13 "2017-05-22T12:36:52Z")
I decided to be semi-optimistic and go with 2028, which would coincidentally make my oldest daughter old enough to vote for whoever it is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/14 "2017-05-22T13:33:00Z")
I don’t know. I don’t think being female has been an unbreakable barrier for a long time, it’s just that the partisan gap is so wide that the small percentage of people who wouldn’t vote for any woman as president is sufficient to be a major hindrance. Hillary came quite close and she was far from an ideal candidate IMO. Circumstances will make the difference, the right candidate, the right time, the right political conditions will lead to it. The problem is more of a scarcity of women who are spending their lives in pursuit of the goal. I’m not saying every male president has been on the life long track towards that goal, but certainly on the path to attaining power and maintaining a suitable public image. It may be a long time from now or just 2020 but it’s gender is no longer the roadblock it once was. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/15 "2017-05-22T14:24:53Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > If you had asked about African American Presidents in 2005, I wonder what the poll results would have been. > > Who knows, maybe there is a female Obama somewhere? Kamala Harris or Tammy Duckworth. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/16 "2017-05-22T15:07:50Z")
I voted 2040 or later, not because there is any real bias, but just because their aren’t any obvious female candidates in the pipeline that have a realistic shot of winning. There have been plenty of female governors even in red states so I don’t think most people care about genitalia more than values and competence. However, I think Hillary Clinton’s gross mismanagement of her campaign will make Democrats shy away from nominating another woman in the next few cycles. I predict that the first female President will be a Republican. It is a simple fact that Republican chicks tend to be way hotter. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/17 "2017-05-22T15:09:26Z")
Duckworth has the resume, Harris has the charisma. Neither have both, and Harris’ political history will be painted in a very unflattering light, and made to look worse because she’s a woman. Duckworth on the other hand, it doesn’t seem like she ever intended to get into politics. She served her country, gave up limbs for her country, and has genuinely sought public service first, her ambitions a distant second. But she lacks charisma. Her biography has to sell her. And in a just world, it should. But Harris, just no. There’s no substance there. She’s got a spotty resume such that we can easily turn her into the devil incarnate. Serving up someone who was elected in a blue state and has never faced a tough campaign is the big round type of softball we love to knock out of the park. We’ll eat her alive. Now if Harris distinguishes herself over the next 10 years or so, we can talk. But if past performance is predictive of future performance I wouldn’t bet on it. She’s a creature of craven politics with no guiding principle beyond her own ambition. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/18 "2017-05-22T15:46:53Z")
I think we’ll elect a male Democrat in 2020 and 2024, so I said 2028. I can’t rule out 2020 but I don’t know of any with the ambition to run. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/19 "2017-05-22T16:07:10Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > The subject says it all. What are your predictions? As soon as one stands who is better than the other candidates. The Republicans seem to be grooming Nikki Haley. Kelly Ayotte is another possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204/20 "2017-05-22T16:15:55Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > But Harris, just no. There’s no substance there. She’s got a spotty resume such that we can easily turn her into the devil incarnate. Serving up someone who was elected in a blue state and has never faced a tough campaign is the big round type of softball we love to knock out of the park. We’ll eat her alive. To be fair, Obama had only been Senator for Illinois for 4 years by the 2008 election, had probably never faced a tough campaign (he won his 2004 election in a rout) and Illinois was a blue state, like California. Harris will be at 4 years by 2020. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-be-before-the-u-s-elects-a-female-president/787204.md?page=2)