Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth (COL ’93 LAW `96) (D-S.D.) related her experiences as a woman running for public office at a symposium in the Gewirz Student Center at the Georgetown University Law Center last Friday.
She was joined by Winsome Sears and Lisa Marie Cheney, Republican candidates for Congressional seats in the 2004 election, as well as Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, and Christy Agner, executive director of the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Vote Center. Cheney is unrelated to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Herseth, who received her undergraduate and law degree from Georgetown University, encouraged young women to run for public office and to help one another once elected.
Herseth shared her story of running as a thirty-three year old single woman in South Dakota, a place where, according to Herseth, “you would be hard pressed to find a state that better fits the definition of red.” Herseth won South Dakota’s one Congressional seat by a 30,000 vote margin in the 2004 general election.
Herseth told women interested in running for office to find special interest women’s groups to join. “Women banning together is not unique, but is significant,” Herseth said.
Herseth said that her campaign was not based on being a woman, but rather on running a positive campaign. Herseth told voters, “Don’t vote for me just because I am a woman. Vote for me because I am the best candidate.”
Herseth said that much of politics is about timing, especially if one is a woman.
“You have to balance your desire for a family or your responsibilities to your family,” Herseth said.
Winsome Sears, who campaigned for Virginia’s Third Congressional District seat also spoke about the special considerations a woman must take when running for office.
She said that when a woman is campaigning for office she cannot have her husband standing next to her because people will question whether she is capable of handling the job alone.
Lisa Marie Cheney, who ran for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District seat, added that having small children on the campaign trail is also not recommended. “People wonder who is at home taking care of the kids,” Cheney said.
Both women lost their races, but Sears said that the people she met along the campaign were very important. “You win in increments sometimes,” Sears said.
Both Sears and Cheney also said that the most difficult part of their campaigns was not running as woman, but running as Republicans in highly Democratic districts.
Cheney’s advice to college students interested in running for office was to get an internship in something that they are passionate about. She also encouraged students to “learn to fundraise” and said one of the best jobs one can get is as a telemarketer.
“You learn how to be on the phone all day, every day,” which is a necessary part of a campaign, according to Cheney.
Sears echoed Cheney’s emphasis of the importance of money to a campaign. According to Sears, when people contribute to a campaign, they are making a business investment and they want to invest in “the big Goliaths” who will win.
The symposium, “Running In Heels: A How-To Guide to Running Your Own Campaign”, was sponsored by the Women’s Legal Alliance and was co-sponsored by the Georgetown Law Democrats and the Georgetown Republican Law Student Association.