Carol Moseley Braun, one of two black candidates and the only woman in the Democratic presidential race, announced Jan. 15 that she was dropping out of the race due to “funding and organizational disadvantages.” The announcement disappointed some activists for women and minorities as the race among the remaining eight candidates heats up.
Speaking at an Iowa high school five days before the Iowa caucuses, Braun said continuing with her campaign would “not have been fair” to her supporters and said she will instead support Democratic frontrunner Howard Dean.
“The funding and organizational disadvantages of a nontraditional campaign could not be overcome, and so this campaign was unable to compete effectively,” Braun said in a transcript of the speech, which was available on her campaign website.
DeAnna Friedman, chair of the University of Wisconsin’s Young Feminist Task Force, was disappointed that Braun was unable to run a stronger campaign. She said it was unfortunate that Braun was unable to raise enough money and garner enough support to sustain her campaign. Friedman attributes some of this to the fact that Braun is a woman and a minority.
“The fact that a woman can’t be a strong candidate says a lot about (the situation of) women and minorities,” Friedman said.
In her speech announcing she was dropping out of the race, Braun expressed hope that her campaign would open the doors for other women and minorities to run for office.
“When women run, when people of color run, we open up the possibility that women and people of color can win,” Braun said in the transcript of the speech.
Braun, a former Illinois senator and ambassador, entered the Democratic presidential race early last year as a long shot. Although she was the nation’s first black woman elected to the Senate, she served only one term after being defeated in her re-election bid in the midst of an ethics scandal.
While Braun’s campaign did focus on providing a voice for women and minority voters, UW political science professor Charles Franklin said it is important not to overestimate her contributions.
“Her standings in the polls indicated that she didn’t really mobilize women and minority voters,” Franklin said.
Franklin also pointed out that Braun is not the first black woman to run for president. Shirley Chisholm, a black congresswoman from New York, ran for the presidency in 1972 and received more support than Braun. He said although Braun served as a voice for many issues that may otherwise have gone unheeded, she was not able to bring a lot of political power to the table.
“This is not someone who had a very successful political career and is bringing that support into the campaign,” Franklin said.
Despite the low levels of funding and support her campaign received, Franklin said Braun’s withdrawal is not trivial.
“For women, it is disappointing to no longer have that symbolic presence in the race,” Franklin said.
Friedman hopes women will use Braun’s withdrawal from the race as an inspiration to support other candidates concerned with issues affecting women.
“Women voters are really going to be important in the next election, and hopefully [Braun’s withdrawal] will encourage them to get out and vote for someone who supports women’s rights,” Friedman said.
Representatives from the Howard Dean campaign said that although Braun’s endorsement of Dean took a lot of people by surprise, the support is welcome.
“I think it will absolutely draw more women and African American voters into Howard Dean’s campaign,” Mike Tate, chair of the Wisconsin Dean campaign, said.
