View source for Geraldine Ferraro

{{Short description|American politician (1935–2011)}}
{{Distinguish|Geraldine Farrar}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Geraldine Ferraro
| image        = Geraldine Ferraro 1998 (1).jpg
| caption      = Ferraro in 1998
| alt          = Woman in her forties, smiling for portrait, in more relaxed setting than usual for officeholders
| office       = [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights]]
| president    = [[Bill Clinton]]
| term_start   = March 4, 1993
| term_end     = October 11, 1996
| predecessor  = [[Armando Valladares]]
| successor    = [[Nancy Rubin]]
| office1      = [[Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman of the United States House of Representatives|Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus]]
| leader1      = [[Tip O'Neill]]
| term_start1  = January 3, 1981
| term_end1    = January 3, 1985
| predecessor1 = [[Shirley Chisholm]]
| successor1   = [[Mary Rose Oakar|Mary Oakar]]
| state2       = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| district2    = {{ushr|NY|9|9th}}
| term_start2  = January 3, 1979
| term_end2    = January 3, 1985
| predecessor2 = [[James J. Delaney|James Delaney]]
| successor2   = [[Thomas Manton (politician)|Thomas Manton]]
| birth_name   = Geraldine Anne Ferraro
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1935|8|26}}
| birth_place  = [[Newburgh, New York]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2011|3|26|1935|8|26}}
| death_place  = [[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S.
| party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[John Zaccaro]]|July 16, 1960}}
| children     = 3
| education    = {{ubl|class=nowraplinks|[[Marymount Manhattan College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[Fordham University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
| signature    = Geraldine A. Ferraro Signature.svg
}}

'''Geraldine Anne Ferraro''' (August 26, 1935 {{en dash}} March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1979 to 1985, and was the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s nominee for vice president in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential election]], running alongside [[Walter Mondale]]; this made her the first [[List of female United States presidential and vice-presidential candidates|female vice-presidential nominee]] representing a major American political party.{{refn|group=nb|name="first-female"}} She was also a journalist, author, and businesswoman.

Ferraro grew up in New York City and worked as a public school teacher before training as a lawyer. She joined the [[Queens County District Attorney]]'s Office in 1974, heading the new Special Victims Bureau that dealt with sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence.  In 1978 she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she rose rapidly in the party hierarchy while focusing on legislation to bring equity for women in the areas of wages, pensions, and retirement plans.

In 1984, former vice president and presidential candidate Walter Mondale, seen as an underdog, selected Ferraro to be his running mate in the upcoming election. In doing so Ferraro also became the first widely recognized [[Italian American]] to be a major-party national nominee.{{refn|group=nb|name="first-italian"}}  The positive polling the Mondale-Ferraro ticket received when she joined soon faded, as damaging questions arose about her and her businessman husband's finances and wealth and her congressional disclosure statements. In the general election, Mondale and Ferraro were defeated in a [[Landslide victory|landslide]] by incumbent President [[Ronald Reagan]] and Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]].

Ferraro twice ran campaigns for a seat in the [[United States Senate]] from New York, [[1992 United States Senate election in New York|in 1992]] and [[1998 United States Senate election in New York|in 1998]], both times starting as the front-runner for her party's nomination before losing in the primary election. She served as the [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council|Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] from 1993 until 1996 during the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|presidential administration]] of [[Bill Clinton]]. She also continued her career as a journalist, author, and businesswoman, and served in the [[Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign|2008 presidential campaign]] of Senator [[Hillary Clinton]]. Ferraro died in 2011 from [[multiple myeloma]], 12 years after being diagnosed.

==Early life and education==
[[File:Ferraro childhood home.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Narrow, red three-story house with turret|Ferraro lived in this building in Newburgh until she was ten.]]
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was born on August 26, 1935, in [[Newburgh (city), New York|Newburgh, New York]],<ref name="nyt-woman">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/10/us/woman-in-the-news-democrat-peacemaker-geraldine-anne-ferraro.html | title=Woman in the News; Democrat, Peacemaker: Geraldine Anne Ferraro | author=Perlez, Jane | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=April 10, 1984}}</ref> the daughter of Antonetta L. Ferraro (née Corrieri), a first-generation Italian American seamstress, and Dominick Ferraro, an Italian immigrant (from [[Marcianise]], [[Campania]]) and owner of two restaurants.<ref name="mystory">Ferraro and Francke, ''My Story'', p. 17.</ref><ref name="mmc-papers">{{cite web|url=http://marymount.mmm.edu/study/resources/library/archives/Ferraro_Papers_guide.pdf |title=The Geraldine A. Ferraro Papers |publisher=[[Marymount Manhattan College]] |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909214246/http://marymount.mmm.edu/study/resources/library/archives/Ferraro_Papers_guide.pdf |archive-date=September 9, 2008 }} pp. 2–3, 88–90.</ref><ref name="people-84"/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.mercertrigiani.com/hoa/assn16762/images/1.aaa.final_issue.summer_2011.pdf | title=In Memoriam: Geraldine Ferraro | first=Dona | last=De Sanctis | magazine=[[Italian America]] | date=Summer 2011 | page=13}}</ref> She had three brothers born before her, but one died in infancy and another at age three.<ref name="people-84">{{cite news | url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20088346,00.html | title=The Making of a Trailblazer | author=Lague, Louise | magazine = [[People (magazine)|People]] | date=July 30, 1984 | access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref> Ferraro attended the parochial school Mount Saint Mary's in Newburgh when she was young.<ref>Ferraro and Whitney, ''Framing a Life'', p. 45.</ref> Her father died of a heart attack in {{Nowrap|May 1944}}, when she was eight.<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', pp. 50–51, 54.</ref> Ferraro's mother soon invested and lost the remainder of the family's money, forcing the family to move to a low-income area in the [[South Bronx, New York|South Bronx]] while Ferraro's mother worked in the garment industry to support them.<ref name="nyt-woman"/><ref name="people-84"/><ref name="watson-gordon"/>

Ferraro stayed on at Mount Saint Mary's as a boarder for a while, then briefly attended a parochial school in the South Bronx.<ref name="fram-65"/> Beginning in 1947, she attended and lived at the parochial Marymount Academy in [[Tarrytown, New York]], using income from a family rental property in Italy and skipping seventh grade.<ref name="fram-65">Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', pp. 65–67.</ref><ref name="engage">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=F30A15F73F5F1A7B93CBA91783D85F4D8585F9 | title=John Zaccaro Fiance of Geraldine Ferraro | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=August 9, 1959}}</ref> At Marymount Ferraro was a member of the [[honor society]], active in several clubs and sports, voted most likely to succeed,<ref name="people-84"/> and graduated in 1952.<ref name="cong-bio">{{cite web | url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000088 | title=Ferraro, Geraldine Anne (1935 – ) | publisher=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] | access-date=August 30, 2008}}</ref> Her mother was adamant that she get a full education,<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', pp. 70, 72.</ref> despite an uncle in the family saying, "Why bother? She's pretty. She's a girl. She'll get married."<ref name="nyt-it-ams">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/magazine/italian-americans-coming-into-their-own.html | title=Italian-Americans Coming Into Their Own | author=Hall, Stephen S. | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=May 15, 1983}}</ref> Ferraro attended [[Marymount Manhattan College]] with a scholarship<ref name="people-84"/> while sometimes holding two or three jobs at the same time.<ref>Ferraro, ''My Story'', p. 18.</ref> During her senior year she began dating [[John Zaccaro]] of [[Forest Hills, Queens]], who had graduated from [[Iona College (New York)|Iona College]] with a commission in the [[U.S. Marine Corps]].<ref name="fram-90">Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', p. 90.</ref> Ferraro received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1956;<ref name="watson-gordon">Watson, ''Anticipating Madam President'', pp. 157–160.</ref> she was the first woman in her family to gain a college degree.<ref name="fram-90"/> She also passed the city exam to become a licensed school teacher.<ref name="fram-90"/>

Ferraro began working as an [[elementary school]] teacher in [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]] in [[Astoria, Queens|the Astoria section of New York City]],<ref name="nyt-woman"/><ref name="watson-gordon"/> "because that's what women were supposed to do."<ref name="people-84"/> Unsatisfied, she decided to attend law school;<ref name="people-84"/> an admissions officer said to her, "I hope you're serious, Gerry. You're taking a man's place, you know."<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', p. 91.</ref> She earned a [[Juris Doctor]] degree with honors from [[Fordham University School of Law]] in 1960,<ref name="cong-bio"/><ref name="nyt-ada"/> going to classes at night while continuing to work as a second-grade teacher at schools such as P.S.&nbsp;57 during the day.<ref name="nyt-woman"/><ref name="watson-gordon"/><ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', plate 12.</ref> Ferraro was one of only two women in her graduating class of 179.<ref name="nyt-ada"/> She was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] of [[New York State]] in {{Nowrap|March 1961}}.<ref name="nyt-ada"/>

==Family, lawyer, prosecutor==
Ferraro became engaged to Zaccaro in {{Nowrap|August 1959}}<ref name="engage"/> and married him on {{Nowrap|July 16}}, 1960.<ref name="nyt-zacc">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/18/us/ferraro-s-husband-competitive-private-man.html | title=Ferraro's Husband: Competitive, Private Man | author=Blumenthal, Ralph | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=August 18, 1984}}</ref> He became a realtor and businessman.<ref name="watson-gordon"/> She kept her birth name professionally, as a way to honor her mother for having supported the family after her father's death,<ref name="nyt-woman"/><ref name="mystory"/> but used his name in parts of her private life.<ref>Jamieson, ''Beyond the Double Bind'', p. 166.</ref> The couple had three children, Donna (born 1962), John Jr. (born 1964), and Laura (born 1966).<ref name="nyt-zacc"/> They lived in [[Forest Hills Gardens, Queens]], and in 1971, added a vacation house in [[Saltaire, New York|Saltaire]] on [[Fire Island, New York|Fire Island]].<ref name="time-wealth">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951269,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029140226/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951269,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 29, 2010 | title=Mistakes and Misunderstandings | author=Magnuson, Ed |author2=Stacks, John F. |author3=Ungeheuer, Frederick | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=September 3, 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/14/nyregion/on-fire-island-family-haven-from-city-life.html | title=On Fire Island, Family Haven From City Life | author = May, Clifford D. | author-link = Clifford D. May | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=June 14, 1986}}</ref> They would buy a condominium in [[Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint Croix]] in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] in 1983.<ref name="time-wealth"/><ref name="nyt-interwoven"/>

While raising the children, Ferraro worked part-time<!--TBD confirm this--> as a [[Private law|civil lawyer]] in her husband's [[real estate broker|real estate firm]] for 13&nbsp;years.<ref name="nyt-ada">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/21/us/ex-colleagues-praise-rep-ferraro-as-lawyer.html | title= Ex-Colleagues Praise Rep. Ferraro As Lawyer | author=Raab, Selwyn | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=July 21, 1984}}</ref> She also occasionally worked for other clients and did some ''[[pro bono]]'' work for women in [[family court]].<ref name="cby-119"/><ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', p. 104.</ref> She spent time at local Democratic clubs, which allowed her to maintain contacts within the legal profession and become involved in local politics and campaigns.<ref name="cby-119"/> While organizing community opposition to a proposed building, Ferraro met lawyer and Democratic figure [[Mario Cuomo]], who became a political mentor.<ref name="buckley20110328">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/nyregion/28geraldine.html | title=Of Ferraro's Roles in Many Arenas, a Favorite: Gerry From Queens | access-date=March 30, 2011 | author=Buckley, Cara | date=March 28, 2011 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | page=A18}}</ref> In 1970, she was elected president of the Queens County Women's Bar Association.<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', p. 105.</ref><ref name="wwaw"/>

[[Image:Jimmy Carter with Congresswomen, Geraldine Ferraro - NARA - 181476.tif|thumb|right|Ferraro meeting with President Jimmy Carter at the White House in 1978]]

Ferraro's first full-time political job came in {{Nowrap|January 1974}}, when she was appointed Assistant District Attorney for [[Queens County, New York]],<ref name="Foerstel">Foerstel, ''Climbing the Hill'', pp. 33–34.</ref> by her cousin, District Attorney [[Nicholas Ferraro]].<ref name="nyt-ada"/> At the time, women prosecutors in the city were uncommon.<ref name="nyt-ada"/> Grumblings that she was the beneficiary of nepotism were countered by her being rated as qualified by a screening committee and by her early job performance in the Investigations Bureau.<ref name="nyt-ada"/> The following year, Ferraro was assigned to the new Special Victims Bureau, which prosecuted cases involving rape, child abuse, spouse abuse, and domestic violence.<ref name="nyt-ada"/><ref name="Foerstel"/> She was named head of the unit in 1977, with two other assistant district attorneys assigned to her.<ref name="nyt-ada"/> In this role, she became a strong advocate for abused children.<ref name="Foerstel"/> She was admitted to the [[Procedures of the Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court Bar]] in 1978.<ref name="wwaw"/>

As part of the D.A. office, Ferraro worked long hours, and gained a reputation for being a tough prosecutor but fair in [[Plea bargain|plea negotiations]].<ref name="nyt-ada"/> Although her unit was supposed to turn over cases which were bound for trial to another division, she took an active role in trying some cases herself, and juries were persuaded by her summations.<ref name="nyt-ada"/> Ferraro was upset to discover that her superior was paying her less than equivalent male colleagues because she was a married woman and already had a husband.<ref name="cby-119">Moritz (ed.), ''Current Biography Yearbook 1984'', p. 119.</ref> Moreover, Ferraro found the nature of the cases she dealt with debilitating;<ref name="nyt-woman"/> the work left her "drained and angry" and she developed an [[Peptic ulcer|ulcer]].<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', p. 107.</ref> She grew frustrated that she was unable to deal with root causes, and talked about running for legislative office;<ref name="nyt-ada"/> Cuomo, now [[Secretary of State of New York]], suggested the [[United States Congress]].{{r|martin20110327}}

==House of Representatives==
[[File:GeraldineFerraro.jpg|thumb|left|Ferraro as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives]]
Ferraro ran for election to the U.S. House of Representatives from [[New York's 9th Congressional District]] in Queens in 1978, after longtime Democratic incumbent [[James J. Delaney|James Delaney]] announced his retirement.<ref name="nyt-two">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=F50C11FE3D5511728DDDAF0894D9415B888BF1D3 |title=Two for the House |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 6, 1978}}</ref> The location for the television series ''[[All in the Family]]'', the district, which stretched from [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]] to [[Ozone Park, New York|Ozone Park]], was known for its ethnic composition and conservative views.<ref name="nyt-woman" /> In a three-candidate primary race for the Democratic nomination, Ferraro faced two better-known rivals, the party organization candidate, [[New York City Council|City Councilman]] [[Thomas J. Manton]] and Patrick Deignan.<ref name="nyt-two" /><ref>O'Neill and Novak, ''Man of the House'', p. 357.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=76 |work=Women in Congress |title=Geraldine Ferraro |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives |year=2011 |access-date=March 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101061905/http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=76 |archive-date=January 1, 2012 }}</ref> Her main issues were law and order, support for the elderly, and neighborhood preservation.<ref name="cby-119" /> She labeled herself a "'small c' conservative"<ref name="nyt-woman" /> and emphasized that she was not a bleeding-heart liberal; her campaign slogan was "Finally, A Tough Democrat".<ref name="apce">Scala, Shade, Campbell (eds.), ''American Presidential Campaigns and Elections'', p. 962.</ref> Her Italian heritage also appealed to ethnic residents in the district.<ref name="cby-119" /> She won the three-way primary with 53&nbsp;percent of the vote, and then captured the general election as well, defeating Republican [[Alfred A. DelliBovi]] by a 10-percentage-point margin in a contest in which dealing with crime was the major issue and personal attacks by DelliBovi were frequent.<ref name="cby-119" /><ref name="nyt-two" /> She had been aided by $130,000 in campaign loans and donations from her own family, including $110,000 in loans from Zaccaro, of which only $4,000 was legal.<ref name="nyt-trans" />{{r|nyt-vetted}} The source and nature of these transactions were declared illegal by the [[Federal Election Commission]] shortly before the primary, causing Ferraro to pay back the loans in {{Nowrap|October 1978}}, via several real estate transactions.<ref name="nyt-trans" /> In 1979, the campaign and Zaccaro paid $750 in fines for civil violations of election law.<ref name="nyt-trans" />

[[File:FerraroHouseForestHillsGardens.jpg|thumb|alt=Larger, two-story house in leafy setting|Ferraro and her family lived in this house in [[Forest Hills Gardens, Queens]], during her time in the House of Representatives, her vice-presidential campaign, and until the early 2000s.]]
Despite being a newcomer to the House, Ferraro made a vivid impression upon arrival<ref name="fj-372">Germond and Witcover, ''Wake Us When It's Over'', p. 372.</ref> and quickly found prominence.<ref name="watson-gordon" /> She became a protégé of [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]] [[Tip O'Neill]],<ref>Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', p. 209.</ref> established a rapport with other House Democratic leaders,<ref name="Foerstel" /> and rose rapidly in the party hierarchy.<ref name="nyt-woman" /> She was elected [[Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman of the United States House of Representatives|Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus]] for 1981–1983 and again for 1983–1985;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://womenincongress.house.gov/data/leadership.html |title=Women Elected to Party Leadership Positions |work=Women in Congress |publisher=[[U.S. House of Representatives]] |access-date=November 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730211834/http://womenincongress.house.gov/data/leadership.html |archive-date=July 30, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> this entitled her to a seat on the influential [[Steering and Policy Committee]].<ref name="Foerstel" /> In 1983, she was named to the powerful [[House Budget Committee]].<ref name="Foerstel" /> She also served on the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|Public Works and Transportation Committee]]<ref name="nyt-woman" /> and the [[United States House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service|Post Office and Civil Service Committee]],<ref name="women-cong">''Women in Congress, 1917–1990'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=OvMnhNZcsDkC&pg=PA70 pp. 69–70].</ref> both of which allowed Ferraro to push through projects to benefit her district.<ref name="cby-120">''Current Biography Yearbook 1984'', p. 120.</ref> In particular, she assisted the successful effort of the [[Ridgewood, Queens|Ridgewood]] and [[Glendale, Queens|Glendale]] neighborhoods to get their [[ZIP code]]s changed from Brooklyn to their native Queens.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1979/09/15/111102676.pdf |title=2 Areas of Queens Cut ZIP Tie to Brooklyn |author=Schwartz, Tony |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 15, 1979 |page=21}}</ref><ref name="licj-2010" /> Male colleagues viewed her with respect as someone who was tough and ambitious<ref name="fj-372" /> and in turn she was, as ''[[The New York Times]]'' later wrote, "comfortable with the boys".<ref name="martin20110327" />

Ferraro was active in Democratic presidential politics as well. She served as one of the deputy chairs for the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 Carter-Mondale campaign]].<ref name="nyt-it-ams" /><ref name="fj-372" /> Following the election, she served actively on the [[Jim Hunt|Hunt Commission]] that in 1982, rewrote the Democratic delegate selection rules; Ferraro was credited as having been the prime agent behind the creation of [[superdelegates]].<ref name="fj-372" /> By 1983, she was regarded as one of the up-and-coming stars of the party.<ref name="nyt-it-ams" /><ref name="nyt-vetted" /> She was the Chairwoman of the Platform Committee for the [[1984 Democratic National Convention]], the first woman to hold that position.<ref name="watson-gordon" /> There she held multiple hearings around the country and further gained in visibility.<ref name="nyt-woman" />

While in Congress, Ferraro focused much of her legislative attention on equity for women in the areas of wages, pensions, and retirement plans.<ref name="Foerstel" /> She was a cosponsor of the 1981 Economic Equity Act.<ref name="Foerstel" /> On the [[House Select Committee on Aging]], she concentrated on the problems of elderly women.<ref name="Foerstel" /> In 1984, she championed a pension equity law revision that would improve the benefits of people who left work for long periods and then returned, a typical case for women with families.<ref name="cq-nat-vi">Cohn (ed.), ''Congress and the Nation 1981–1984'', pp. 669–670.</ref> The Reagan administration, at first lukewarm to the measure, decided to sign it to gain the benefits of its popular appeal.<ref name="cq-nat-vi" />

[[File:FerraroDistrictReport.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Regular size newsletter, red and blue ink in places, Ferraro's picture at top|As with many representatives, Ferraro issued regular newsletters to her constituents.]]
Ferraro also worked on some environmental issues. During 1980, she tried to prevent the federal government from gaining the power to override local laws on [[hazardous materials]] transportation, an effort she continued in subsequent years.<ref name="cq-nat-v">Gottro (ed.), ''Congress and the Nation 1977–1980'', p. 334.</ref><ref>''Congress and the Nation 1981–1984'', p. 300.</ref> In {{Nowrap|August 1984}}, she led passage of a [[Superfund]] renewal bill and attacked the Reagan administration's handling of environmental site cleanups.<ref>''Congress and the Nation 1981–1984'', pp. 459, 461.</ref>

Ferraro took a congressional trip to [[Nicaragua]] at the start of 1984, where she spoke to the [[Contras]].<ref name="mystory-122" /> She decided that the [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]]'s military interventions there and in [[El Salvador]] were counterproductive towards reaching U.S. security goals, and that regional negotiations would be better.<ref name="mystory-122">Ferraro, ''My Story'', pp. 122–124.</ref>

In all, Ferraro served three two-year terms, being re-elected in 1980 and 1982.<ref name="cong-bio" /> Her vote shares increased to 58&nbsp;percent and then 73&nbsp;percent and much of her funding came from [[political action committees]].<ref name="cby-119" /> While Ferraro's [[pro-choice]] views conflicted with those of many of her constituents as well as the Catholic Church to which she belonged, her positions on other social and foreign policy issues were in alignment with the district.<ref name="Foerstel" /> She broke with her party in favoring an anti-[[Desegregation busing in the United States|busing]] amendment to the Constitution.<ref name="women-cong" /><ref name="time-pol-pos" /> She supported deployment of the [[Pershing&nbsp;II]] missile and the [[Ohio-class submarine|Trident submarine]], although she opposed funding for the [[MX missile]], the [[B-1B bomber]], and the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]].<ref name="time-pol-pos">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952427,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908055525/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952427,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 8, 2008 |title=In the Party's Mainstream |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 23, 1984}}</ref>

While in the House, Ferraro's political self-description evolved to "moderate".<ref name="nyt-woman" /> In 1982, she said her experiences as assistant district attorney had changed some of her views: "... because no matter how concerned I am about spending, I have seen first hand what poverty can do to people's lives and I just can't, in good conscience, not do something about it."<ref name="nyt-ada" /> For her six years in Congress, Ferraro had an average 78&nbsp;percent "Liberal Quotient" from [[Americans for Democratic Action]]{{refn|group=nb|See {{cite web |url=http://www.adaction.org/pages/publications/voting-records.php |title=Voting Records |publisher=[[Americans for Democratic Action]] |access-date=January 23, 2009}} From 1979 through 1984, her scores were 74, 72, 85, 75, 90, and 70 (the decline in the last year was partly due to missed votes while campaigning for vice president).}} and an average 8&nbsp;percent rating from the [[American Conservative Union]].{{refn|group=nb|See {{cite web|url=http://www.conservative.org/congress-ratings/ |title=Ratings of Congress |publisher=[[American Conservative Union]] |access-date=June 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619111750/http://www.conservative.org/congress-ratings/ |archive-date=June 19, 2010}} From 1979 through 1984, her scores were 16, 17, 7, 10, 0, and 0.}} The [[AFL–CIO]]'s Committee on Political Education gave her an average approval rating of 91&nbsp;percent.<ref name="cby-120" />

==1984 vice-presidential candidacy==
{{see also|1984 United States presidential election}}
[[File:GERALDINEFERRARO.jpg|thumb|Ferraro speaks at the [[1984 Democratic National Convention]]. Standing behind her are California Congressmen [[Bob Matsui]] and [[Norman Mineta]] and future San Francisco supervisor [[Tom Hsieh]].]]
[[File:Geraldine Ferraro at the 1984 Democratic National Convention (1).jpg|thumb|300px|Ferraro delivering her vice presidential nomination acceptance speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention]]

As the 1984 U.S. presidential election primary season neared its end and [[Walter Mondale]] became the likely Democratic nominee, the idea of picking a woman as his vice-presidential running mate gained considerable momentum.<ref name="whynot">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951137-2,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025213757/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951137-2,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 25, 2012 | title=Why Not a Woman? | author = Morrow, Lance | author-link = Lance Morrow | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=June 4, 1984}}</ref> The [[National Organization for Women]] and the [[National Women's Political Caucus]] pushed the notion, as did several top Democratic figures such as [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Tip O'Neill]].<ref name="whynot"/> Women mentioned for the role included Ferraro and [[Mayor of San Francisco]] [[Dianne Feinstein]],<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926644,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930092516/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926644,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 30, 2007 | title=Trying to Win the Peace | author = Thomas, Evan | author-link = Evan Thomas | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=July 2, 1984}}</ref> both of whom were on Mondale's five-person [[short list]].<ref>Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', p. 208.</ref>

Mondale selected Ferraro to be his vice-presidential candidate on {{Nowrap|July 12}}, 1984. She stated, "I am absolutely thrilled."<ref name="pol071207">{{cite news | last = Glass | first = Andrew | title = Ferraro joins Democratic ticket July&nbsp;12, 1984 | newspaper = [[Politico]] | date = July 12, 2007 | url = https://www.politico.com/story/2007/07/ferraro-joins-democratic-ticket-july-12-1984-004891 | access-date = June 8, 2008}}</ref> The Mondale campaign hoped that her selection would change a campaign in which he was well behind; in addition to attracting women, they hoped she could attract ethnic Democrats in the Northeast U.S. who had [[Reagan Democrats|abandoned their party for Reagan in 1980]].<ref name="apce"/><ref name="women-cong"/> Her personality, variously described as blunt, feisty, spirited, and somewhat saucy, was also viewed as an asset.<ref name="martin20110327"/><ref name="ap-mgh"/>  In turn, Mondale accepted the risk that came with her inexperience.<ref>Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', p. 212.</ref>

As Ferraro was the first woman to run on a [[major party]] national ticket in the United States,{{refn|group=nb|name="first-female"|Although Ferraro was the first woman to be on a major-party ticket for one of the nation's two highest offices, she was not the first woman to receive an [[United States electoral college|electoral college]] vote. That woman was [[Theodora Nathan]], a [[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian]] vice-presidential candidate who got the support of [[Roger MacBride]], a [[faithless elector]] from [[Virginia]] who, in 1972, voted for her instead of the pledged [[Spiro Agnew]]. However, Ferraro was the first woman to receive more than one electoral vote. See {{cite web|url=http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/documents/prescand.pdf |title=Women Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates: A Selected List |publisher=[[Rutgers University]] Center for American Women and Politics |year=2008 |access-date=January 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320201043/http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/documents/prescand.pdf |archive-date=March 20, 2009}} }} and the first Italian American,{{refn|group=nb|name="first-italian"|Mention is occasionally made of [[Al Smith]], who was the Democratic presidential nominee in the [[1928 United States presidential election|1928 election]], as the first Italian American to run on a major party national ticket. But Smith was only one-quarter Italian in heritage, was not known by an Italian surname, and was generally identified as an Irish American. While his Roman Catholic religion was certainly a major issue in the election, his partial Italian heritage was not. See {{cite news | url=http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/when-a-catholic-terrified-the-heartland/?_r=0 | title=When a Catholic Terrified the Heartland | first=Robert A. | last=Slayton | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=December 10, 2011}} The large majority of sources consider Ferraro to have been the first Italian American to achieve this distinction. See {{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/politics/27geraldine-ferraro.html?_r=0 | title=She Ended the Men's Club of National Politics | first=Douglas | last=Martin | newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=March 26, 2011}}; {{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/geraldine-a-ferraro-first-woman-major-party-candidate-on-presidential-ticket-dies-at-75/2011/03/26/AFLyheeB_story.html | title=Geraldine A. Ferraro, first woman major-party candidate on presidential ticket, dies at 75 | first=Matt | last=Schudel | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| date=March 26, 2011}}; {{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-mar-26-la-me-geraldine-ferraro-20110327-story.html | title=Geraldine Ferraro dies at 75; shattered political barrier for women as vice presidential nominee in 1984 | first=Elaine | last=Woo | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=March 26, 2011}}; and {{cite news | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/geraldine-ferraro-dies-75-woman-vice-president-candidate-remembered/story?id=13228533 | title=Geraldine Ferraro, First Woman VP Candidate, Dies at 75 | first=Bill | last=McGuire | work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]| date=March 27, 2011}} }} her {{Nowrap|July 19}} nomination at the [[1984 Democratic National Convention]] was one of the most emotional moments of that gathering, with female delegates appearing joyous and proud at the historic occasion.<ref name="cq18">''Congress and the Nation 1981–1984'', pp. 18–20.</ref> In her acceptance speech, Ferraro said, "The daughter of an immigrant from Italy has been chosen to run for vice president in the new land my father came to love."<ref name="hdpe">Nelson (ed.), ''Historic Documents on Presidential Elections 1787–1988'', pp. 785ff.</ref> Convention attendees were in tears during the speech, not just for its significance for women but for all those who had immigrated to America.<ref>Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', p. 239.</ref>

[[File:FerraroMondaleFlyer.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|alt=Dark blue type on pinkish background, Ferraro's name above Mondale's, large photo of them waving to an unseen crowd|A [[Flyer (pamphlet)|flyer]] advertised a post-convention [[Queens Borough Hall]] rally, for Ferraro to introduce Mondale to New York City voters.]]

Ferraro gained immediate, large-scale media attention.<ref name="time-media">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926699-1,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103145932/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926699-1,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 3, 2012 | title=The Life off the Party | author = Andersen, Kurt | author-link = Kurt Andersen |author2=Stacks, John F. | magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=July 30, 1984}}</ref> At first, journalists focused on her novelty as a woman and her poor family background, and their coverage was overwhelmingly favorable.<ref>Braden, ''Women Politicians and the Media'', p. 111.</ref> Nevertheless, Ferraro faced many press questions about her foreign policy inexperience, and responded by discussing her attention to foreign and national security issues in Congress.<ref name="time-media"/> She faced a threshold of proving competence that other high-level female political figures have had to face, especially those who might become [[commander-in-chief]]; the question "Are you tough enough?" was often directed to her.<ref>Jamieson, ''Beyond the Double Bind'', p. 129.</ref> [[Ted Koppel]] questioned her closely about [[nuclear strategy]]<ref name="braden-110">Braden, ''Women Politicians and the Media'', p. 110.</ref> and during ''[[Meet the Press]]'' she was asked, "Do you think that in any way the Soviets might be tempted to try to take advantage of you simply because you are a woman?"<ref>Jamieson, ''Beyond the Double Bind'', p. 107.</ref>

The choice of Ferraro was viewed as a gamble, and pundits were uncertain whether it would result in a net gain or loss of votes for the Mondale campaign.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-3358753.html | title=Why it's Ferraro for veep | magazine = [[U.S. News & World Report]] | date=July 23, 1984 | author=Chaze, William L.}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref> While her choice was popular among Democratic activists, polls immediately after the announcement showed that only 22&nbsp;percent of women were excited about Ferraro's selection, versus 18&nbsp;percent who agreed that it was a "bad idea". By a three-to-one margin, voters thought that pressure from women's groups had led to Mondale's decision rather than his having chosen the best available candidate.<ref name="time19840723">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,952425,00.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105074430/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,952425,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 5, 2013 | title=Geraldine Ferraro: A Break with Tradition | access-date=March 26, 2011 | author=Church, George L. | author2=Magnuson, Ed | date=July 23, 1984 | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Nonetheless, in the days after the convention Ferraro proved an effective campaigner, with a brash and confident style that forcefully criticized the Reagan administration and sometimes almost overshadowed Mondale.<ref name="apce"/><ref name="cq18"/><ref name="hdpe"/> Mondale had been 16&nbsp;points behind Reagan in polls before the pick, and after the convention he pulled even for a short time.<ref name="pol071207"/>

[[File:Flynn, Ferraro, and Dukakis.jpg|thumb|right|Governor [[Michael Dukakis]] with Boston Mayor [[Raymond Flynn]] and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro campaigning in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential election]].]]
By the last week of July, however, questions—due initially to reporting by ''The New York Times''<ref name="nyt-vetted"/>—began about Ferraro's finances, the finances of her husband, [[John Zaccaro]], and their separately filed tax returns.<ref name="nyt-trans">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/26/us/rep-ferraro-s-transactions-detailed-in-public-records.html | title=Rep. Ferraro's Transactions Detailed in Public Records | author = Gerth, Jeff | author-link = Jeff Gerth |author2=Blumenthal, Ralph | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=July 26, 1984}}</ref> (While the Mondale campaign had anticipated some questions, it had only spent 48 hours on vetting Ferraro's family's finances.<ref name="nyt-vetted">{{cite news | url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/when-the-press-vetted-geraldine-ferraro/ | title=When the Press Vetted Geraldine Ferraro | author=Blumenthal, Ralph | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 4, 2008 | access-date=June 25, 2009}}</ref><ref>Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', p. 213.</ref>) This was also the first time the American media had to deal with a national candidate's husband.<ref name="braden-110"/>

Ferraro said she would release both their returns within a month, but maintained she was correct not to have included her husband's financial holdings on her past annual congressional disclosure statements.<ref name="nyt-trans"/> The media also reported on the FEC's past investigation into Ferraro's 1978 campaign funds.<ref name="nyt-trans"/> Although Ferraro and Zaccaro's finances were often interwoven on paper,<ref name="nyt-interwoven">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/16/us/finances-of-ferraro-and-husband-are-interwoven.html | title=Finances of Ferraro and Husband Are Interwoven | author = Gerth, Jeff | author-link = Jeff Gerth | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=August 16, 1984}}</ref> with each half partners in Zaccaro's company,{{r|nyt-vetted}} Ferraro had little knowledge of his business, or even how much he was worth.<ref name="goldman-fin">Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', pp. 278–281.</ref> Zaccaro did not understand the greater public exposure that his wife's new position brought to their family, and resisted releasing his financial information.<ref name="goldman-fin"/> On {{Nowrap|August 12}}, Ferraro announced that her husband would not in fact be releasing his tax returns, on the grounds that to do so would disadvantage his real estate business and that such a disclosure was voluntary and not part of election law.<ref name="nyt-seizes">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/14/us/gop-seizes-genderless-issue-of-tax-returns-to-attack-ferraro.html | title=G.O.P. Seizes 'Genderless Issue' of Tax Returns to Attack Ferraro | author = Raines, Howell | author-link = Howell Raines | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=August 14, 1984}}</ref> She joked, "So you people married to Italian men, you know what it's like."{{refn|group=nb|See [[Associated Press]] filing: {{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/311187750/?terms=ferraro%2Bmarried%2Bitalian%2B%22you%2Bknow%2Bwhat%2Bit%27s%2Blike%22 | title=Ferraro Alters Disclosure Vow | agency=[[Associated Press]] | newspaper=[[The Indianapolis News]] | date=August 13, 1984 | page=4 | via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} This remark was alternately reported as, "If you're married to an Italian man, you know what it's like." See [[United Press International]] filing: {{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/216363702/?terms=ferraro%2Bmarried%2Bitalian%2B%22you%2Bknow%2Bwhat%2Bit%27s%2Blike%22 | title=Ferraro Won't Release Husband's Tax Returns | agency=[[United Press International]] | newspaper=The Town Talk | location=Alexandria, Louisiana | date=August 13, 1984 | page=B-7 | via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} Ferraro's 1985 memoir uses a variation of the first formulation: "'You people who are married to Italian men, you know what it's like,' I quipped." See Ferraro, ''My Story'', p. 156.}}

The tax announcement dominated television and newspapers,<ref name="pattterson-dani"/> as Ferraro was besieged by questions regarding her family finances.<ref name="nyt-plans"/> Furthermore, her remark about Italian men brought criticism for ethnic stereotyping,<ref name="mystory-156"/> especially from fellow Italian Americans.<ref name="martin20110327"/> As she later wrote, "I had created a monster."<ref name="mystory-156">Ferraro, ''My Story'', pp. 156–158.</ref> Republicans saw her finances as a "genderless" issue that they could attack Ferraro with without creating a backlash,<ref name="nyt-seizes"/> and some Mondale staffers thought Ferraro might have to leave the ticket.<ref name="goldman-fin"/> The ''[[New York Tribune (1983–1984)|New York Tribune]]'', followed by ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' and a few other mainstream newspapers, went even further in their investigations, reporting that Zaccaro was the landlord of a company owned by pornography tycoon and [[Gambino crime family]] member [[Robert DiBernardo]].<ref name="ap-newsday-072684">{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97553988/ | title=Zaccaro May Oust Tenant | agency=[[Associated Press]] | newspaper=[[Newsday]] | date=July 26, 1984 | page=21 (New York Edition) | via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="braden-113-115"/> Many other newspapers minimized their coverage of possible connections between Zaccaro and the mob, however,<ref name="lats-shaw">{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97523078/ | title=Press values clash over coverage of Ferraro 'ties' to mob | author-first=David | author-last=Shaw | agency=[[Los Angeles Times Service]] | newspaper=[[Austin American-Statesman]] | date=December 9, 1984 | pages=H1, H14 | via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> and law enforcement officials downplayed the allegations.<ref name="braden-113-115">Braden, ''Women Politicians and the Media'', pp. 113–115.</ref>

A week after her previous statement, Ferraro said Zaccaro had changed his mind and would indeed release his tax records,<ref name="nyt-plans">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/19/us/husband-plans-tax-disclosure-with-ferraro.html | title=Husband Plans Tax Disclosure With Ferraro | author=Perlez, Jane | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 19, 1984}}</ref> which was done on {{Nowrap|August 20}}.<ref name="nyt-discl">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/22/us/ferraro-denies-any-wrongdoing-2d-loan-by-zaccaro-from-estate.html | title=Ferraro Denies Any Wrongdoing; 2d Loan By Zaccaro From Estate | author=Roberts, Sam | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 22, 1984}}</ref> The full statements included notice of payment of some $53,000 in back federal taxes that she owed due to what was described as an accountant's error.<ref name="nyt-discl"/> Ferraro said the statements proved overall that she had nothing to hide and that there had been no financial wrongdoing.<ref name="nyt-discl"/> The disclosures indicated that Ferraro and her husband were worth nearly $4&nbsp;million, had a full-time maid, and owned a boat and the two vacation homes.<ref name="martin20110327"/> Much of their wealth was tied up in real estate rather than being disposable income,<ref name="time-wealth"/> but the disclosures hurt Ferraro's image as a [[rags-to-riches]] story.<ref name="martin20110327"/> Ferraro's strong performance at an {{Nowrap|August 22}} press conference covering the final disclosure—where she answered all questions for two hours—effectively ended the issue for the remainder of the campaign, but significant damage had been done.<ref name="fj-447">Germond and Witcover, ''Wake Us When It's Over'', pp. 447–448.</ref><ref>Goldman and Fuller, ''The Quest for the Presidency 1984'', pp. 283–284.</ref> No campaign issue during the entire 1984 presidential campaign received more media attention than Ferraro's finances.<ref name="pattterson-dani">Patterson and Dani, ''The Media Campaign'', p. 119.</ref> The exposure diminished Ferraro's rising stardom, removed whatever momentum the Mondale–Ferraro ticket gained out of the convention, and delayed formation of a coherent message for the fall campaign.<ref name="apce"/><ref name="cq18"/><ref name="fj-447"/>

Sharp criticism from Catholic Church authorities put Ferraro on the defensive during the entire campaign, with abortion opponents frequently protesting her appearances with a level of fervor not usually encountered by pro-choice Catholic male candidates such as [[Mario Cuomo]] and [[Edward M. Kennedy|Ted Kennedy]].<ref name="martin20110327"/><ref name=Davis>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAJN-OcsZhAC&pg=PA146|pages=146–147 |title=Sacred work: Planned Parenthood and its clergy alliances |last=Davis |first=Tom |publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2005 |isbn=0-8135-3493-3}}</ref><ref name="light-lake">Light and Lake, ''The Elections of 1984'', pp. 103, 107–108.</ref> In a 1982 briefing for Congress, Ferraro had written that "the Catholic position on abortion is not monolithic and there can be a range of personal and political responses to the issue."<ref name="Keller et al">{{cite book |first1=Rosemary Skinner |last1=Keller |first2=Rosemary Radford |last2=Ruether |first3=Marie |last3=Cantlon |title=Encyclopedia of women and religion in North America |volume=3 |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-253-34688-6 |pages=1104–1106}}</ref><ref name="Heyer et al">{{cite book |first1=Kristin E. |last1=Heyer |first2=Mark J. |last2=Rozell |first3=Michael A. |last3=Genovese |title=Catholics and politics: the dynamic tension between faith and power |publisher=Georgetown University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58901-216-5 |series=Religion and politics |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicspolitic0000kris |url-access=registration |pages=[https://archive.org/details/catholicspolitic0000kris/page/18 18], 20}}</ref> Ferraro was criticized by [[Cardinal John O'Connor]], the Catholic [[Archbishop of New York]], and [[James Clifford Timlin|James Timlin]], the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton|Bishop of Scranton]], for misrepresenting the [[Catholicism and abortion|Catholic Church's position on abortion]].<ref>Prendergast, ''The Catholic Vote in American Politics'', pp. 26, 187.</ref><ref>{{cite news | magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] | first=Joe | last=Klein | author-link=Joe Klein | date=October 1, 1984 | title=Abortion and the Archbishop |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ieUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 | page=36 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923636,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930212730/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923636,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 | title=Pressing the Abortion Issue | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 24, 1984 | first1=David | last1=Beckwith | first2=Elizabeth | last2=Taylor | first3=Ed | last3=Magnusonith}}</ref> After several days of back-and-forth debate in the public media, Ferraro finally conceded that, "the Catholic Church's position on abortion is monolithic" but went on to say that "But I do believe that there are a lot of Catholics who do not share the view of the Catholic Church".<ref name="Heyer et al"/> Ferraro was also criticized for saying that Reagan was not a "good Christian" because, she said, his policies hurt the poor.<ref name="martin20110327"/> To defend Ferraro, the pro-choice group [[Catholics for a Free Choice]] placed an October 7, 1984, full-page ad in ''The New York Times'' titled "[[A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion]]".<ref name="Keller et al"/>

[[Image:Vice Presidential Debate with George H. W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro, Philadelphia, PA.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Representative Ferraro and Vice President George H. W. Bush at the 1984 vice presidential debate]]

Ferraro drew large crowds on the campaign trail, many of whom wished to see the history-making candidate in person, who often chanted, "Ger-ry! Ger-ry!"<ref>Germond and Witcover, ''Wake Us When It's Over'', pp. 487–488.</ref> Mondale and Ferraro rarely touched during their appearances together, to the point that he would not even place his palm on her back when they stood side by side; Ferraro later said this was because anything more and "people were afraid that it would look like, 'Oh, my God, they're dating.'".<ref>{{cite news | author = Bumiller, Elisabeth | author-link = Elisabeth Bumiller | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/us/politics/09etiquette.html | title=To have (as a running mate), and hold (politely) | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=September 8, 2008 | access-date=September 9, 2008}}</ref>

There was [[1984 Vice Presidential Debate|one vice-presidential debate]] between Congresswoman Ferraro and Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]]. Held on {{Nowrap|October 11}}, the result was proclaimed mostly even by the press and historians;<ref name="hdpe"/><ref>Scala, ''American Presidential Campaigns and Elections'', p. 966.</ref> women voters tended to think Ferraro had won, while men, Bush.<ref name="light-lake"/> At it, Ferraro criticized Reagan's initial refusal to support an extension to the [[Voting Rights Act]].<ref name="debatetranscript"/> Her experience was questioned at the debate and she was asked how her three terms in Congress stacked up with Bush's extensive government experience.<ref name="debatetranscript"/> To one Bush statement she said, "Let me just say first of all, that I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy."<ref name="hdpe"/> She strongly defended her position on abortion, which earned her applause and a respectful reply from her opponent.<ref name="debatetranscript">{{cite web | title=The 1984 Vice Presidential Debate | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/84debates/vp1.html | publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] | work=[[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer|NewsHour]] | date=October 11, 1984 | access-date=June 9, 2007 | archive-date=May 16, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516223412/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/84debates/vp1.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> In the days leading up to the debate, [[Second Lady of the United States]] [[Barbara Bush]] had publicly referred to Ferraro as "that four-million-dollar—I can't say it, but it rhymes with 'rich'."<ref name="NYTRich">{{cite web|last1=Boyd|first1=Gerald M.|title=Aide to Ferraro Demands Bush Make Apology|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/us/aide-to-ferraro-demands-bush-make-apology.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 14, 1984}}</ref> Barbara Bush soon apologized, saying she had not meant to imply Ferraro was "a witch".<ref name="NYTRich"/> [[Peter Teeley]], Vice President Bush's press secretary, said of Ferraro just prior to the debate, "She's too bitchy. She's very arrogant. Humility isn't one of her strong points and I think that comes through."<ref name="UPIich">{{cite news | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/10/12/Vice-President-George-Bushs-spokesman-Peter-Teeley-who-acknowledged/1940466401600/ | title=Vice President George Bush's spokesman Peter Teeley, who acknowledged... | work=[[United Press International]] | date=October 12, 1984}}</ref>  Teeley declined to apologize for the remark, saying it had no sexist implications and the Ferraro campaign was being "hypersensitive" in complaining about it.<ref name="UPIich"/>

On October 18 the ''[[New York Post]]'' accurately reported that Ferraro's father had been arrested for possession of [[Numbers game|numbers slips]] in Newburgh shortly before his death, and inaccurately speculated that something mysterious had been covered up about that death.<ref name="father-arrest">Ferraro, ''My Story'', pp. 275–277, and Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', pp. 160–162.</ref> Ferraro's mother had never told her about his arrest;<ref name="father-arrest"/> she had been also arrested as an accomplice but released after her husband's death.<ref name="martin20110327">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/politics/27geraldine-ferraro.html | title = Geraldine A. Ferraro, 1935–2011: She Ended The Men's Club of National Politics | access-date=March 26, 2011 | author=Martin, Douglas | date=March 26, 2011 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | page=A1}}</ref> The printing of the story led Ferraro to state that ''Post'' publisher [[Rupert Murdoch]] "does not have the worth to wipe the dirt under [my mother's] shoes."<ref>{{cite news | title='No one in charge,' Mondale maintains | newspaper= [[The Milwaukee Sentinel]] | date=October 19, 1984}}</ref>

Ferraro's womanhood was consistently discussed during the campaign; one study found that a quarter of newspaper articles written about her contained gendered language.<ref>Falk, ''Women for President'', p. 86.</ref> Throughout, Ferraro kept campaigning, taking on the traditional running mate role of attacking the opposition vigorously.<ref name="martin20110327"/> By the end, she had traveled more than Mondale and more than Reagan and Bush combined.<ref>Clift and Brazaitis, ''Madam President'', p. 82.</ref>
[[File:Geraldine Ferraro, first female Vice Presidential candidate running with Presidential candidate Walter Mondale, visits University of Texas at Arlington campus (10006337).jpg|thumb|Geraldine Ferraro at the [[University of Texas at Arlington]], September 1984]]
On November 6, Mondale and Ferraro lost the general election in a [[Landslide victory|landslide]]. They received only 41&nbsp;percent of the popular vote compared to Reagan and Bush's 59&nbsp;percent, and in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] won only Mondale's home state of [[Minnesota]] and the [[District of Columbia]].<ref>Germond and Witcover, ''Wake Us When It's Over'', p. 537.</ref> The ticket even lost Ferraro's congressional district, which had long been one of the more conservative districts in New York City; it tended to vote Republican in presidential races.<ref name="mystory-313">Ferraro, ''My Story'', pp. 312, 313.</ref> Ferraro's presence on the ticket had little measurable effect overall.<ref name="light-lake"/> Reagan captured 55&nbsp;percent of women voters<ref name="mystory-313"/> and about the same share of Catholic voters, the latter being the highest level yet for a Republican presidential candidate.<ref>Prendergast, ''The Catholic Vote in American Politics'', pp. 191–193.</ref> Of the tenth of voters who decided based on the vice-presidential candidates, 54&nbsp;percent went to Mondale–Ferraro,<ref name="light-lake"/> establishing that Ferraro provided a net gain to the Democrats of 0.8&nbsp;percent.<ref>Falk, ''Women for President'', p. 146.</ref> Reagan's personal appeal and campaign themes of prosperity and "[[It's morning again in America]]" were quite strong, while Mondale's [[modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] campaign alienated Southern whites and northern blue-collar workers who [[Reagan Democrat|usually voted Democratic]].<ref>Scala, ''American Presidential Campaigns and Elections'', p. 959.</ref> Political observers generally agree that no combination of Democrats could have won the election in 1984.<ref name="cq18"/> Mondale himself would later reflect that "I knew that I was in for it with Reagan" and that he had no regrets about choosing Ferraro.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/15/transcript-me-sprengelmeyers-interview-walter-mond/ | title=Transcript of M.E. Sprengelmeyer's interview with Walter Mondale | author=Sprengelmeyer, M. E. | newspaper=[[Rocky Mountain News]] | date=August 15, 2008 | access-date=June 23, 2009|author-link=M. E. Sprengelmeyer}}</ref>

After the election, the [[House Ethics Committee]] found that Ferraro had technically violated the [[Ethics in Government Act]] by failing to report, or reporting incorrectly, details of her family's finances, and that she should have reported her husband's holdings on her congressional disclosure forms.<ref name="cq-818">''Congress and the Nation 1981–1984'', p. 818.</ref><ref name="time-eth">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923811,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817170928/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923811,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=August 17, 2007 | title=Money Trail | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=December 17, 1984}}</ref> However, the committee concluded that she had acted without "deceptive intent", and since she was leaving Congress anyway, no action against her was taken.<ref name="cq-818"/><ref name="time-eth"/> Ferraro said, "I consider myself completely vindicated."<ref name="time-eth"/> The scrutiny of her husband and his business dealings presaged a trend that women candidates would face in American electoral politics.<ref>Kornblut, ''Notes from the Cracked Ceiling'', p. 127.</ref>

Ferraro is one of only four U.S. women to run on a major party national ticket. The others are [[Sarah Palin]], the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee]];<ref name="npr083008"/> [[Hillary Clinton]], the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 Democratic presidential nominee]]; and [[Kamala Harris]], the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 Democratic vice-presidential nominee]] and the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 Democratic presidential nominee]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-biden-election-results-11-07-20/h_24281144b14a81f6a4a5bb0512cf8e9c | title=Kamala Harris will be the country's first female and first Black vice president | publisher=[[CNN]] | date=November 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Reston |first1=Maeve |last2=Parker |first2=Ashley |title=Seeking a historic win, Harris faces a familiar foe: Sexism |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/19/woman-president-kamala-harris/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=November 17, 2024 |date=October 19, 2024}}</ref>

The campaign did lead to the greater adoption of the honorific "[[Ms.]]"<ref name="encyc-ms"/>  Although ''[[The New York Times]]'' refused to use it at the time for her, the paper's iconoclastic columnist and language expert [[William Safire]] became convinced it ought to be part of the English language by the case of Ferraro, who was a married woman who used her birth surname professionally rather than her husband's (Zaccaro). Safire wrote in August 1984 that it would be equally incorrect to call her "Miss Ferraro" (as she was married) or "Mrs. Ferraro" (as her husband was not "Mr. Ferraro", although this is the formulation the ''Times'' used), and that calling her "Mrs. Zaccaro" would confuse the reader.<ref>{{cite news | last=Safire | first=William | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/05/magazine/on-language-goodbye-sex-hello-gender.html?pagewanted=1 | title=On Language: Goodbye Sex, Hello Gender | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 5, 1984 | author-link=William Safire}} Section 6 p. 8.</ref>  Two years after the campaign, the ''Times'' finally changed its policy and began using "Ms."<ref name="encyc-ms">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia=Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices | editor-first=Roger | editor-last=Chapman | editor2-first=James | editor2-last=Ciment | publisher=Routledge | location=London | edition=Second | date=2015 | title=Ms. | first=Roger | last=Chapman |page=438 <!-- | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XO9nBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA438&lpg=PA438 -->}}</ref>

==First Senate run and ambassadorship==
Ferraro had relinquished her House seat to run for the vice presidency. Her new-found fame led to an appearance in a [[Diet Pepsi]] commercial in 1985.<ref name="mmc-papers"/><ref name="nyt-farewell"/> She published ''Ferraro: My Story'', an account of the campaign with some of her life leading up to it, in {{Nowrap|November 1985}}. It was a best seller and earned her $1&nbsp;million.<ref name="time-nogo86">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960474,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029195417/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960474,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 29, 2010 | title=Sitting It Out | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=December 23, 1985}}</ref> She also earned over $300,000 by giving speeches.<ref name="nyt091192tx"/>

Despite the one-sided national loss in 1984, Ferraro was still viewed as someone with a bright political future. Many expected her to run in the [[1986 United States Senate election in New York]] against first-term Republican incumbent [[Al D'Amato]],<ref name="time-nogo86"/> and during 1985 she did [[Upstate New York]] groundwork towards that end.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E6D71539F93BA35755C0A963948260 | title=Off to Buffalo | author=Cardody, Deidre | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=June 8, 1985}}</ref> A Senate candidacy had been her original plan for her career, before she was named to Mondale's ticket. But in {{Nowrap|December 1985}}, she said she would not run, due to an ongoing [[U.S. Justice Department]] probe on her and her husband's finances stemming from the 1984 campaign revelations.<ref name="time-nogo86"/>

Members of Ferraro's family were indeed facing legal issues. Her husband [[John Zaccaro]] had pleaded guilty in {{Nowrap|January 1985}} to fraudulently obtaining bank financing in a real estate transaction and had been sentenced to 150&nbsp;hours of community service.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/21/nyregion/judge-sentences-zaccaro-to-work-in-public-service.html | title=Judge Sentences Zaccaro to Work in Public Service | author=Blumenthal, Ralph | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=February 21, 1985}}</ref> Then, in {{Nowrap|October 1986}}, he was indicted on unrelated felony charges regarding an alleged 1981 bribery of [[Queens Borough President]] [[Donald Manes]] concerning a cable television contract.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,962540,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221230052/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,962540,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 21, 2008 | title=The Family Ties That Bind |author1=Lamar Jr. |author2=Jacob V. | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=October 13, 1986}}</ref> A full year later, he was acquitted at trial.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/15/nyregion/jury-acquits-zaccaro-of-seeking-to-extort-cable-television-bribe.html | title= Jury Acquits Zaccaro of Seeking To Extort Cable Television Bribe | author=James, George | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=October 15, 1987}}</ref> The case against him was circumstantial, a key prosecution witness proved unreliable, and the defense did not have to present its own testimony.<ref name="nyt101587a">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/15/nyregion/acquittal-of-zaccaro-puts-his-prosecutors-on-spot.html | title=Acquittal of Zaccaro Puts His Prosecutors on Spot | author=Shipp, E. R. | author-link=E. R. Shipp | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=October 15, 1987}}</ref><ref name="clift-83"/> Ferraro said her husband never would have been charged had she not run for vice president.<ref name="clift-83">Clift and Brazaitis, ''Madam President'', p. 83.</ref> Meanwhile, in {{Nowrap|February 1986}}, the couple's son John had been arrested for possession and sale of cocaine.<ref name="nyt-sent">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/17/us/ferraro-s-son-sentenced-to-4-months-in-jail-for-selling-cocaine.html | title= Ferraro's Son Sentenced to 4 Months in Jail for Selling Cocaine | author=Gold, Allan R. | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=June 17, 1988}}</ref> He was convicted, and in {{Nowrap|June 1988}}, sentenced to four months' imprisonment; Ferraro broke down in tears in court relating the stress the episode had placed on her family.<ref name="nyt-sent"/> Ferraro worked on an unpublished book about the conflicting rights between a free press and being able to have fair trials.<ref name="nyt071888"/> Asked in {{Nowrap|September 1987}} whether she would have accepted the vice presidential nomination had she known of all the family problems that would follow, she said, "More than once I have sat down and said to myself, oh, God, I wish I had never gone through with it&nbsp;... I think the candidacy opened a door for women in national politics, and I don't regret that for one minute. I'm proud of that. But I just wish it could have been done in a different way."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/25/nyregion/for-ferraro-troubles-but-a-close-family.html | title=For Ferraro, Troubles, but a Close Family | author=James, George | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 25, 1987}}</ref>

Ferraro remained active in raising money for Democratic candidates nationwide, especially women candidates.<ref name="hc022488"/> She founded the Americans Concerned for Tomorrow [[political action committee]], which focused on getting ten women candidates elected in the [[1986 United States elections|1986 congressional elections]] (eight of whom would be successful).<ref name="hc022488"/> During the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential election]], Ferraro served as vice chair of the party's Victory Fund.<ref name="nyt071888">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DD1E3DF93BA25754C0A96E948260 | title=A History Maker Recalls the Door That She Opened | author=Roberts, Sam | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=July 18, 1988}}</ref>

She also did some commentating for television.<ref name="nyt071888"/> Ferraro was a fellow at the [[Harvard Institute of Politics]] from 1988 to 1992,<ref name="wwaw"/> teaching in-demand seminars such as "So You Want to be President?"<ref name="hc022488">{{cite news | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1988/2/24/geraldine-ferraro-pwhen-she-was-nominated/ | title=Geraldine Ferraro | author=Solowey, Eric S. | newspaper = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | date=February 24, 1988}}</ref> <!-- She joined a law firm.<ref name="nyt-farewell"/> TBD what, when? hadn't by mid-1988 per another article—Am commenting out, not convinced it's accurate --> She also took care of her mother, who suffered from [[emphysema]] for several years before her death in early 1990.<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', pp. 171–181.</ref>

[[Image:GeraldineFerraro92gimg875.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Ferraro at an upstate New York union hall appearance in 1992]]

By October 1991, Ferraro was ready to enter elective politics again, and ran for the Democratic nomination in the [[1992 United States Senate election in New York]].<ref name="nyt-running">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DE1E30F932A15753C1A967958260 | title= In Senate Campaign, Ferraro Picks Up Where She Left Off | author=Kolbert, Elizabeth | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=October 21, 1991}}</ref> Her opponents were State Attorney General [[Robert Abrams]], Reverend [[Al Sharpton]], Congressman [[Robert J. Mrazek]], and New York City Comptroller and former Congresswoman [[Elizabeth Holtzman]]. Abrams was considered the early front-runner.<ref name="nyt-running"/> The D'Amato campaign feared facing Ferraro the most among these, as her Italian ancestry, effective debating and stump speech skills, and her staunch pro-choice views would eat into several of D'Amato's usual bases of support.<ref name="lurie">Lurie, ''Senator Pothole'', p. 464.</ref> Ferraro emphasized her career as a teacher, prosecutor, congresswoman, and mother, and talked about how she was tough on crime.<ref>Braden, ''Women Politicians and the Media'', p. 135.</ref> Ferraro drew renewed attacks during the primary campaign from the media and her opponents over Zaccaro's finances and business relationships.<ref name="nyt-front">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/01/nyregion/for-ferraro-cheers-of-84-are-still-resonating.html | title= For Ferraro, Cheers of '84 Are Still Resonating | author=Mitchell, Alison | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 1, 1992}}</ref> She objected that a male candidate would not receive nearly as much attention regarding his wife's activities.<ref name="nyt-front"/> Ferraro became the front-runner, capitalizing on her star power from 1984, and using the campaign attacks against her as an explicitly feminist rallying point for women voters.<ref name="nyt-front"/> As the primary date neared, her lead began to dwindle under the charges, and she released additional tax returns from the 1980s to try to defray the attacks.<ref name="nyt091192tx">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/11/nyregion/new-york-s-senate-race-ferraro-releases-tax-returns-for-2-missing-years-offset.html | title=Ferraro Releases Tax Returns for 2 Missing Years to Offset Attacks by Rivals | author=Blumenthal, Ralph | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 11, 1992}}</ref>

Holtzman, who was trailing in polls, borrowed over $400,000 from Fleet Bank to run a [[negative ad]] accusing Ferraro and Zaccaro of taking more than $300,000 in rent in the 1980s from the DiBernardo-run pornography company whose presence in Zaccaro's building had been raised during her 1984 vice-presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/27/nyregion/holtzman-draws-criticism-from-feminists-over-ads.html | title=Holtzman Draws Criticism From Feminists Over Ads | author=Mitchell, Alison | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=August 27, 1992}}</ref>  Ferraro said there had been efforts to oust the company at the time, but they had remained in the building for three more years.<ref name="nyt091292met"/>  In addition, a report by an investigator for the New York State Organized Crime Task Force found its way to the media via a tip from a Holtzman aide; it said that Zaccaro had been seen meeting with DiBernardo in 1985.<ref name="nyt091292met">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/12/nyregion/ferraro-s-husband-is-said-to-have-met-mob-figure.html | title=Ferraro's Husband Is Said To Have Met Mob Figure | author=Blumenthal, Ralph | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 12, 1992}}</ref>  Ferraro said in response that those two had never met.<ref name="nyt091292met"/>

The final debates were nasty, and Holtzman in particular constantly attacked Ferraro's integrity and finances.<ref name="pothole-465">Lurie, ''Senator Pothole'', pp. 465, 467.</ref><ref name="nyt-abrams"/> In an unusual election-eve television broadcast, Ferraro talked about "the ethnic slur that I am somehow or other connected to organized crime. There's lots of innuendo but no proof. However, it is made plausible because of the fact that I am an Italian-American. This tactic comes from the poisoned well of fear and stereotype&nbsp;..."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/15/nyregion/the-1992-campaign-senate-race-ends-in-whirl-of-appeals.html | title=Senate Race Ends in Whirl of Appeals | author = Purdum, Todd S. | author-link = Todd Purdum | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 15, 1992}}</ref> In the {{Nowrap|September 15}}, 1992, primary, Abrams edged out Ferraro by less than a percentage point, winning 37&nbsp;percent of the vote to 36&nbsp;percent, with Sharpton and Holtzman well behind.<ref name="nyt-abrams">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/16/nyregion/the-1992-campaign-senate-abrams-in-tight-senate-vote-appears-to-edge-out-ferraro.html | title=Abrams, In Tight Senate Vote, Appears to Edge Out Ferraro | author = Purdum, Todd S. | author-link = Todd Purdum | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 16, 1992}}</ref> Ferraro did not concede she had lost for two weeks.<ref name="nyt100192"/>

Abrams spent much of the remainder of the campaign trying to get Ferraro's endorsement.<ref name="nyt-endor"/> Ferraro, enraged and bitter after the nature of the primary,<ref name="pothole-465"/><ref name="nyt100192"/> ignored Abrams and accepted [[Bill Clinton]]'s request to campaign for [[Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign|his presidential bid]] instead.<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', pp. 196–197.</ref> She was eventually persuaded by Governor Mario Cuomo and state party leaders into giving an unenthusiastic endorsement with just three days to go before the general election, in exchange for an apology by Abrams for the tone of the primary.<ref name="nyt-endor">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/01/nyregion/ferraro-gets-an-apology-from-abrams.html | title=Ferraro Gets An Apology From Abrams | author=Manegold, Catherine S. | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=November 1, 1992}}</ref> D'Amato won the election by a very narrow margin.<ref name="pothole-465"/> Overall the [[1992 United States Senate elections|1992 U.S. Senate elections]] saw five victories that it became known as the "[[Year of the Woman]]". The Ferraro-Holtzman fighting of the campaign was viewed as a disaster by many feminists, however, with Ferraro denied her political comeback while Holtzman also politically damaged herself.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/17/nyregion/the-1992-campaign-women-for-feminists-it-wasn-t-what-they-had-in-mind.html | title=For Feminists, It Wasn't What They Had in Mind | author=Mitchell, Alison | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 17, 1992}}</ref><ref name="nyt-abrams"/> The feud between Ferraro and Holtzman from the 1992 Senate primary lingered, as the following year Ferraro supported [[New York State Assembly|Assemblyman]] [[Alan Hevesi]]'s successful primary challenge that unseated Holtzman as [[New York City Comptroller]]; Ferraro denied that her endorsement was motivated by revenge against Holtzman, saying it was due to Hevesi's liberal State Assembly voting record.<ref name=NYT1993Apr>{{cite news | first=James C. |last=McKinley Jr. |author-link=James C. McKinley Jr. |title= Bank Named to Bond Sale After Loan to Holtzman Campaign |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/23/nyregion/bank-named-to-bond-sale-after-loan-to-holtzman-campaign.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 23, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/nyregion/hevesi-throws-hat-in-ring-for-comptroller-s-office.html | title=Hevesi Throws Hat in Ring For Comptroller's Office | first=James C. | last=McKinley Jr. | author-link=James C. McKinley Jr. | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=May 21, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/15/nyregion/the-1993-primary-the-overview-hevesi-outpolls-holtzman-forcing-a-runoff-vote.html?pagewanted=all | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | title=The 1993 Primary: The Overview — Hevesi Outpolls Holtzman, Forcing a Runoff Vote | first=Alison | last=Mitchell | date=September 15, 1993}}</ref>

Following the Senate primary loss, Ferraro became a managing partner in the New York office of [[Keck, Mahin & Cate]], a Chicago-based law firm.<ref name="wh102293">{{cite press release | url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/whitehouse-papers/1993/Oct/Three-Appointments-1993-10-22 | title=President Names Ferraro to UNHRC | publisher=[[The White House]] | date=October 22, 1993 | access-date=November 25, 2008}}</ref><ref name="wsj-int">{{cite news | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/02/01/law-blog-qa-geraldine-ferraro/ | title=Law Blog Q&A: Geraldine Ferraro | author=Lattman, Peter | newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=February 1, 2007 | access-date=November 25, 2008}}</ref> There she organized the office and spoke with clients, but did not actively practice law and left<!--when? WWoAW says 1993–94--> before the firm fell into difficulties.<ref name="wsj-int"/> Ferraro's second book, a collection of her speeches, was titled ''Changing History: Women, Power and Politics'' and was published in 1993.<ref>{{cite book | author = Ferraro, Geraldine | title = Changing History: Women, Power, and Politics | publisher = Moyer Bell Ltd | location = Mt. Kisco, NY | year = 1998 | isbn = 1-55921-266-7 }}</ref>

President Clinton appointed Ferraro as a member of the United States delegation to the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] in {{Nowrap|January 1993}}.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/30/style/chronicle-574093.html | title=Chronicle | author=Brozan, Nadine | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=January 30, 1993}}</ref> She attended the {{Nowrap|June 1993}} [[World Conference on Human Rights]] in Vienna as the alternate U.S. delegate.<ref name="fox-bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34759,00.html |title=Geraldine Ferraro&nbsp;– Bio |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=September 5, 2003 |access-date=December 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025164517/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C34759%2C00.html |archive-date=October 25, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Then in {{Nowrap|October 1993}}, Clinton promoted her to be [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights]], saying that Ferraro had been "a highly effective voice for the human rights of women around the world."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2DC1E39F930A15753C1A965958260 | title=Chronicle | author=Brozan, Nadine | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=October 23, 1993}}</ref> The Clinton administration named Ferraro vice-chair of the U.S. delegation to the landmark {{Nowrap|September 1995}} [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] in Beijing; in this role she picked a strong team of experts in human rights issues to serve with her.<ref name="chesler">Chesler, ''Where Human Rights Begin'', p. 22.</ref> During her stint on the commission, it for the first time condemned [[anti-Semitism]] as a human rights violation,<ref name="nyt031094">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03EFD8173DF933A25750C0A962958260 | title=A First for the U.N.: Condemning Anti-Semitism | author=Lewis, Paul | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=March 10, 1994}}</ref> and also for the first time prevented China from blocking a motion criticizing [[Human rights in the People's Republic of China|its human rights record]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DD1038F93BA35750C0A963958260 | title=China Fails to Block U.N. Vote on Rights | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=March 8, 1995}}</ref> Regarding a previous China motion that had failed, Ferraro had told the commission, "Let us do what we were sent here to do—decide important questions of human rights on their merits, not avoid them."<ref name="nyt031094"/> Ferraro held the U.N. position into 1996.<ref name="cong-bio"/>

==Commentator and second Senate run==
In February 1996, Ferraro joined the high-visibility [[CNN]] political talk show ''[[Crossfire (U.S. TV program)|Crossfire]]'',<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E6D71439F934A35751C0A960958260 | title=Chronicle | author=Brozan, Nadine | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=July 7, 1996}}</ref> as the co-host representing the "from the left" vantage. She kept her brassy, rapid-fire speech and [[New York accent]] intact, and her trial experience from her prosecutor days was a good fit for the program's format.<ref name="nyt-train"/> She sparred effectively with "from the right" co-host [[Pat Buchanan]],<ref name="nyt-train"/> for whom she developed a personal liking.<ref>Ferraro, ''Framing a Life'', p. 201.</ref> The show stayed strong in ratings for CNN,<ref name="variety">{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/ferraro-out-of-crossfire-into-political-frying-pan-1117433993/ | title=Ferraro out of 'Crossfire,' into political frying pan | magazine = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 6, 1998}}</ref> and the job was lucrative.<ref name="nyt-farewell"/><ref name="nyt-98-taxes"/> She welcomed how the role "keeps me visible [and] keeps me extremely well informed on the issues."<ref name="nyt-train">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E5D61E3FF93AA25751C0A961958260 | title= In Training for a Run on the Political Stage | author=Clines, Francis X. | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=February 19, 1997}}</ref>

At the start of 1998, Ferraro left ''Crossfire'' and ran for the Democratic nomination again in the [[1998 United States Senate election in New York]].<ref name="variety"/> The other candidates were Congressman [[Chuck Schumer]] and [[New York City Public Advocate]] [[Mark Green (New York politician)|Mark Green]].<ref name="nyt-98ann">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/04/nyregion/friends-say-ferraro-will-seek-d-amato-s-seat.html | title= Friends Say Ferraro Will Seek D'Amato's Seat | author = Nagourney, Adam | author-link = Adam Nagourney | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=January 4, 1998}}</ref> She had done no fundraising, out of fear of conflict of interest with her ''Crossfire'' job, but was nonetheless immediately perceived as the front-runner.<ref name="nyt-98ann"/> Indeed, December and January polls had her 25&nbsp;percentage points ahead of Green in the race and even further ahead of Schumer.<ref name="nyt-farewell">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/17/nyregion/the-1998-campaign-the-farewell-for-ferraro-early-promise-lopsided-loss.html | title=The Farewell: For Ferraro, Early Promise, Lopsided Loss | author=Waldman, Amy | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=September 17, 1998}}</ref><ref>Schumer, ''Positively American'', p. 17.</ref> Unlike the previous campaigns, her family finances never became an issue.<ref name="nyt-farewell"/> However, she lost ground during the summer, with Schumer catching up in the polls by early August and then soon passing her.<ref>Schumer, ''Positively American'', p. 31.</ref> Schumer, a tireless fundraiser, outspent her by a five-to-one margin, and Ferraro failed to establish a political image current with the times.<ref name="nyt-farewell"/><ref>Schumer, ''Positively American'', pp. 18, 30.</ref> In the {{Nowrap|September 15}}, 1998 primary, she was beaten soundly by Schumer by a 51&nbsp;percent to 26&nbsp;percent margin.<ref name="nyt-farewell"/> Unlike 1992, the contest was not divisive, and Ferraro and third-place finisher Green endorsed Schumer at a unity breakfast the following day.<ref>Schumer, ''Positively American'', pp. 33, 39.</ref> Schumer would go on to decisively unseat D'Amato in the general election.

The 1998 primary defeat brought an end to Ferraro's political career. ''The New York Times'' wrote at the time: "If Ms. Ferraro's rise was meteoric, her political career's denouement was protracted, often agonizing and, at first glance, baffling."<ref name="nyt-farewell"/> She still retained admirers, though. [[Anita Perez Ferguson]], president of the [[National Women's Political Caucus]], noted that female New York political figures in the past had been reluctant to enter the state's notoriously fierce primary races, and said: "This woman has probably been more of an opinion maker than most people sitting for six terms straight in the House of Representatives or Senate. Her attempts, and even her losses, have accomplished far beyond what others have accomplished by winning."<ref name="nyt-farewell"/>

==Business career, illness and medical activism==
In 1980, Ferraro co-founded the [[National Organization of Italian American Women]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.niaf.org/milestones/year_1971.asp |title=NIAF Milestones |publisher=[[National Italian American Foundation]] |access-date=November 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509140720/http://www.niaf.org/milestones/year_1971.asp |archive-date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref> which sought to support the educational and professional goals of its members and put forward positive role models in order to fight ethnic stereotyping,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://noiaw.i-italy.org/ct/html/ta/me/about-noiaw/ti/about-noiaw | title=Mission Statement | publisher=[[National Organization of Italian American Women]] | access-date=November 24, 2008 | archive-date=June 14, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614113529/http://noiaw.i-italy.org/ct/html/ta/me/about-noiaw/ti/about-noiaw | url-status=dead }}</ref> and was still a distinguished member of its board at the time of her death.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://noiaw.i-italy.org/ct/html/ta/me/about-noiaw/board-members/ti/board-members | title=Board Members | publisher=[[National Organization of Italian American Women]] | access-date=March 27, 2011 | archive-date=August 23, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823085812/http://noiaw.i-italy.org/ct/html/ta/me/about-noiaw/board-members/ti/board-members | url-status=dead }}</ref> Ferraro was connected with many other political and non-profit organizations. She was a board member of the [[National Democratic Institute for International Affairs]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ndi.org/board_of_directors | title=NDI Board of Directors | publisher=[[National Democratic Institute of International Affairs]] | access-date=December 10, 2008}}</ref> and a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref name="wwaw"/> She became president of the newly established International Institute for Women's Political Leadership in 1989.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEED81439F93BA15751C0A96F948260 | title= Washington Talk: Briefing; Ferraro Back in Capital | author=May, Clifford D. | author-link = Clifford D. May |author2=Halloran, Richard | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=February 28, 1989}}</ref> In 1992, she was on the founding board of [[Project Vote Smart]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.votesmart.org/founding_board.php | title=Project Vote Smart's Founding & Executive Board Members | publisher=[[Project Vote Smart]] | access-date=December 13, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127054746/http://www.votesmart.org/founding_board.php <!--Added by H3llBot--> | archive-date=November 27, 2008}}</ref> By 1993, she was serving on the [[Fordham Law School]] Board of Visitors, as well as on the boards of the [[National Breast Cancer Research Fund]], the [[Easter Seals (U.S.)|New York Easter Seal Society]], and the [[Pension Rights Center]], and was one of hundreds of public figures on the [[Planned Parenthood Federation of America]]'s Board of Advocates.<ref name="wwaw"/><ref name="wh102293"/> In 1999, she joined the board of the [[Bertarelli Foundation]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/1999/11/18/1999-11-18_paris_will_always_have_cher.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110714215906/https://nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/1999/11/18/1999-11-18_paris_will_always_have_cher.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |title=Paris Will Always Have Cher |author=Rush, George |author2=Malloy, Joanna |newspaper=[[New York Daily News]] |date=November 18, 1999 }}</ref> and in 2003, the board of the [[National Women's Health Resource Center]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.healthywomen.org/newsroom/pressreleases/dbnwhrcnews/geraldineferrarojoinsboardofnationalwomenshealthresourcecenter |title=Geraldine Ferraro Joins Board of National Women's Health Resource Center |publisher=[[National Women's Health Resource Center]] |date=January 2, 2003 |access-date=December 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705044810/http://www.healthywomen.org/newsroom/pressreleases/dbnwhrcnews/geraldineferrarojoinsboardofnationalwomenshealthresourcecenter |archive-date=July 5, 2008 }}</ref> During the 2000s she was on the board of advisors to the [[Lori Berenson|Committee to Free Lori Berenson]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.freelori.org/thecommittee.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801081959/http://www.freelori.org/thecommittee.html | url-status=usurped | archive-date=August 1, 2012 | title=About the Committee to Free Lori Berenson | publisher=freelori.org | access-date=December 13, 2008}}</ref>

''Framing a Life: A Family Memoir'' was published by Ferraro in {{Nowrap|November 1998}}. It depicts the life story of her mother and immigrant grandmother; it also portrays the rest of her family, and is a memoir of her early life, but includes relatively little about her political career.<ref>{{cite book| author1 = Whitney, Catherine | author2 = Ferraro, Geraldine | title = Framing a life: a family memoir | publisher = [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] | location = New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-684-85404-X | url = https://archive.org/details/framinglife00gera }}</ref>

Ferraro had felt unusually tired at the end of her second Senate campaign.<ref name="nw102607"/> In {{Nowrap|November 1998}}, she was diagnosed with [[multiple myeloma]], a form of blood cancer where plasma cells secrete abnormal antibodies known as Bence-Jones proteins, which can cause bones to disintegrate and dump toxic amounts of calcium into the bloodstream.<ref name="cr-f2007">{{cite news | url=http://www.crmagazine.org/archive/Fall2007/Pages/APublicLifeWithCancer.aspx | title=A Public Life With Cancer | magazine=[[CR (magazine)|CR]] | date=Fall 2007 | author=Gorman, Jessica | access-date=December 10, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725205958/http://www.crmagazine.org/archive/Fall2007/Pages/APublicLifeWithCancer.aspx | archive-date=July 25, 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref> She did not publicly disclose the illness until {{Nowrap|June 2001}}, when she went to Washington to successfully press in congressional hearings for passage of the [[Hematological Cancer Research Investment and Education Act]].<ref name="cr-f2007"/> A portion of the Act created the Geraldine Ferraro Cancer Education Program, which directs the [[U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services]] to establish an education program for patients of blood cancers and the general public.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://olpa.od.nih.gov/legislation/107/publiclaws/hematological.asp | title=Legislative Updates: Hematological Cancer Research Investment and Education Act of 2001 | publisher=[[Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis]] | access-date=June 24, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626192812/http://olpa.od.nih.gov/legislation/107/publiclaws/hematological.asp | archive-date=June 26, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Ferraro became a frequent speaker on the disease,<ref name="cnn-then-now">{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/13/ccn25.tan.ferraro/index.html | title=Then & Now: Geraldine Ferraro | publisher=CNN | date=June 19, 2005 | access-date=December 9, 2008}}</ref> and an avid supporter and honorary board member of the [[Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation]].<ref name="cr-f2007"/>

[[Image:Geraldine Ferraro (9068527271) (1).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Ferraro visiting the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 2004]]

Though initially given only three to five years to live, by virtue of several new drug therapies and a [[bone marrow transplant]] in 2005,<ref name="cr-f2007"/> she would beat the disease's Stage&nbsp;1 survival mean of 62&nbsp;months by over a factor of two.<ref name="ISS">{{cite journal  |vauthors=Greipp PR, San Miguel J, Durie BG, etal |title=International staging system for multiple myeloma |journal=J. Clin. Oncol. |volume=23 |issue=15 |pages=3412–20 |year=2005 |pmid=15809451 |doi=10.1200/JCO.2005.04.242|url=http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/23/15/3412|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Her advocacy helped make the new treatments approved and available for others as well.<ref name="fort-care"/> For much of the last decade of her life, Ferraro was not in [[Remission (medicine)|remission]], but the disease was managed by continually adjusting her treatments.<ref name="nw102607">{{cite news | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/57545/page/1 | title=Geraldine Ferraro Takes Your Questions | magazine=[[Newsweek]] | date=October 26, 2007 | access-date=December 14, 2008}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}}</ref>

Ferraro joined [[Fox News Channel]] as a regular political commentator in {{Nowrap|October 1999}}.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/27/arts/tv-notes-newt-gingrich-on-fox-news.html | title=Newt Gingrich on Fox News | last=Carter |first= Bill | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=October 27, 1999}}</ref> By 2005, she was making sporadic appearances on the channel,<ref name="cnn-then-now"/> which continued into 2007, and beyond.<ref name="cr-f2007"/> She partnered with [[Laura Ingraham]], starting in {{Nowrap|December 1999}}, in writing the alternate-weeks column "Campaign Countdown" on the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000&nbsp;presidential election]] for [[The New York Times Syndicate]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_58120664 |title=Geraldine Ferraro and Laura Ingraham Write 'Campaign Countdown' For the New York Times Syndicate |publisher=[[Business Wire]] |date=December 9, 1999 |access-date=December 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017124525/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_58120664 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 }}</ref> During the 2000s, <!-- begin/end years would be nice --> Ferraro was an affiliated faculty member at the [[Georgetown Public Policy Institute]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.petersons.com/GradChannel/code/ProgramVC.asp?sn=Georgetown-University&mu=The-Georgetown-Public-Policy-Institute&inunid=42142&sponsor=1&related=true | title=Georgetown University: Georgetown Public Policy Institute | publisher=[[Peterson's]] | date=August 25, 2008 | access-date=December 13, 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
[[File:Pelosi clinton graves ferraro.jpg|thumb|240px|alt=Four adult women standing in a lobby perhaps, stiff pose, large indoor plant in background|Ferraro (left) marked [[Women's History Month]] in 2003, with Senator [[Hillary Clinton]], House Minority Leader [[Nancy Pelosi]], and opera singer [[Denyce Graves]].]]

In January 2000, Ferraro and [[Lynn Morley Martin|Lynn Martin]]—a former Republican Congresswoman and [[U.S. Secretary of Labor]] who had played Ferraro in George H. W. Bush's debate preparations in 1984<ref name="clift"/>—co-founded, and served as co-presidents of, G&L Strategies, a management consulting firm underneath Weber McGinn.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27408074_ITM | title=Lynn Martin Joins Geraldine Ferraro in Advising Businesses on Workplace and Marketplace Issues | publisher=[[PR Newswire]] | date=January 27, 2000 | access-date=December 9, 2008}}</ref> Its goal was to advise corporations on how to develop more women leaders and make their workplaces more amenable to female employees.<ref name="clift">Clift and Brazaitis, ''Madam President'', p. 81.</ref> G&L Strategies subsequently became part of [[Golin Harris International]].<ref name="nyt061703"/> In {{Nowrap|June 2003}}, Ferraro was made executive vice president and managing director of the public affairs practice of the Global Consulting Group,<ref name="nyt061703">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E4D71238F934A25755C0A9659C8B63 | title=The Media Business: Advertising&nbsp;– Addenda: People | author=Timmons, Heather | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=June 17, 2003}}</ref> an international investor relations and corporate communications component of [[Huntsworth]]. There she worked with corporations, non-profit organizations, state governments and political figures.<ref name="br-pr"/> She continued there as a senior advisor working about two days a month.<ref name="cr-f2007"/>

After living for many years in [[Forest Hills Gardens, Queens]], she and her husband moved to Manhattan in 2002.<ref name="nyt-train"/><ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/02/01/law-blog-qa-geraldine-ferraro/ | title=Law Blog Q&A: Geraldine Ferraro | author=Lattman, Peter | newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=February 1, 2007 | access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foresthillschamber.org/en/history/ |title=Neighborhood History and Neighborhood Feel |publisher=Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce |access-date=December 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502133801/http://www.foresthillschamber.org/en/history/ |archive-date=May 2, 2009 }}</ref> She republished ''Ferraro: My Story'' in 2004, with a postscript summarizing her life in the twenty years since the campaign.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Marie C. |last1=Wilson |author2=Ferraro, Geraldine |author3=Francke, Linda Bird | title = Ferraro: My Story | publisher = [[Northwestern University Press]] | location = Evanston, Ill | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-8101-2211-1 }}</ref>

Ferraro was a member of the board of directors of Goodrich Petroleum beginning in {{Nowrap|August 2003}}.<ref name="gdp">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=GDP.N&viewId=bio | title=Officers and Directors For Goodrich Petroleum Corp | publisher=Reuters | access-date=December 10, 2008}}</ref> She was also a board member for [[New York Bancorp]] in the 1990s.<ref name="nyt-98-taxes">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E2DB1E3FF932A15751C0A96E958260 | title= Joint Tax Returns Show Ferraro Made $150,000 in CNN Job | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=February 21, 1998}}</ref>

Ferraro became a principal in the government relations practice of the [[Blank Rome]] law firm in {{Nowrap|February 2007}}, working both in New York and Washington<ref name="br-pr">{{cite press release|url=http://www.blankromegr.com/index.cfm?contentID=31&itemID=184 |title=Geraldine Ferraro Joins Blank Rome |publisher=[[Blank Rome]] |date=February 1, 2007 |access-date=December 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708013108/http://www.blankromegr.com/index.cfm?contentID=31&itemID=184 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="WSJ" /> about two days a week in their lobbying and communications activities.<ref name="cr-f2007"/> As she passed the age of 70, she was thankful for still being alive, and said "This is about as retired as I get, which is part time,"<ref name="cr-f2007"/> and that if she fully retired, she would "go nuts".<ref name="WSJ" />

==2008 presidential election involvement==
In December 2006, Ferraro announced her support for Democratic presidential candidate [[Hillary Clinton]]. Later, she vowed to help defend Clinton from being [[Swiftboating|"swiftboated"]] in a manner akin to [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential candidate]] [[John Kerry]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Sherwell, Philip |title=Female ex-candidate to 'protect' Hillary Clinton |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1547299/Female-ex-candidate-to-%27protect%27-Hillary-Clinton.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515031901/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1547299/Female-ex-candidate-to-%27protect%27-Hillary-Clinton.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 15, 2008 |newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=April 2, 2007 |access-date=October 16, 2008 | location=London}}</ref> She assisted with fundraising by assuming an honorary post on the finance committee for [[Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign|Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign]].<ref name="ap031208">{{cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23590166 | title=Clinton supporter quits over Obama remarks |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[NBC News]] | date=March 12, 2008 | access-date=March 13, 2008 | author=Kuhnhenn, Jim}}</ref>

A heated nomination battle emerged between Clinton and [[Barack Obama]].<ref name="cnn031108"/> Ferraro became livid and distraught when one of her daughters voted for Obama in [[Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary, 2008|the Massachusetts primary]], saying "What is the matter with you? You ''know'' Hillary. You have ''seen'' my involvement with her." When her daughter responded by noting that Obama was inspirational, Ferraro snapped, "What does he inspire you to do, leave your husband and three kids and your practice and go work for Doctors Without Borders?" This was seen as an example of a generational difference among American women; in contrast to Ferraro's generation, younger women saw nothing special about electing a woman president (especially one with Clinton's history) compared to what writer [[Anne Kornblut]] called "the milestone of electing an African American president". According to Kornblut, younger voters saw "Clinton [as] both a relic of that era and a victim of its success. She was the wrong woman at the wrong time; she was a Clinton; she hadn't gotten there on her own".<ref>Kornblut, ''Notes from the Cracked Ceiling'', pp. 13–15.  The same account is given by the author in {{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/23/AR2009122301315.html | title=When young women don't vote for women | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| date=December 27, 2009}}</ref>

The campaign between the two also saw racial dust-ups caused by perceptions of remarks made by campaign surrogates.<ref name="cnn031108"/>  In March 2008 Ferraro gave an interview with the ''[[Daily Breeze]]'' in which she said: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."<ref name="ap031208"/><ref name="Farber, Jim">{{cite news | author=Farber, Jim | title = Geraldine Ferraro lets her emotions do the talking | newspaper = [[Daily Breeze]] | date = March 7, 2008}}</ref>  (Ferraro had made a similar comment in 1988 disparaging [[Jesse Jackson]]'s [[Jesse Jackson 1988 presidential campaign|candidacy in the party's presidential primaries]], saying that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."<ref name="edition.cnn.com">{{cite news |quote=In an April 15, 1988, article in ''The Washington Post'', Ferraro is quoted as saying that because of his 'radical' views, 'if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race.' | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/12/ferraro.comments/ | title=Ferraro steps down from Clinton campaign |author=Sinderbrand, Rebecca|publisher=CNN |date=March 13, 2008}}</ref>) Ferraro justified the statements by referring to her own run for vice president. Echoing a statement she wrote about herself in 1988,{{r|martin20110327}} Ferraro said that "I was talking about historic candidacies and what I started off by saying (was that) if you go back to 1984 and look at my historic candidacy, which I had just talked about all these things, in 1984, if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would have never been chosen as a vice-presidential candidate. It had nothing to do with my qualification."<ref name="ap031208"/> Her comments resonated with some older white women, but generated an immediate backlash elsewhere.<ref>Kornblut, ''Notes from the Cracked Ceiling'', p. 73.</ref> There was strong criticism and charges of racism from many supporters of Obama<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.slate.com/id/2186553/|title=Playing the Racist Card: Ferraro's comments about Senator Obama were racist. Why can't we say that?|author=Coates, Ta-Nehisi|magazine = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=March 14, 2008|access-date=April 15, 2008}}</ref> and Obama called them "patently absurd".<ref name="cnn031108"/> Clinton publicly expressed disagreement with Ferraro's remarks, while Ferraro vehemently denied she was a racist.<ref name="ap031208"/> Again speaking to the ''Breeze'', Ferraro responded to the attacks by saying: "I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"<ref name="cnn031108">{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/11/ferraro.comments/index.html | title= Ferraro: 'They're attacking me because I'm white' | author=Sinderbrand, Rebecca | publisher=CNN | date=March 11, 2008 | access-date=December 14, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Maddaus, Gene | title=Ferraro defends controversial comments on Barack Obama | newspaper = [[Daily Breeze]] | date=March 11, 2008}}</ref> Ferraro resigned from Clinton's finance committee on {{Nowrap|March 12}}, 2008, two days after the firestorm began, saying that she didn't want the Obama camp to use her comments to hurt Clinton's campaign.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/ferraro-quits-clinton-post/ | title=Ferraro Quits Clinton Post | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | author=Seelye, Katharine Q. | access-date=March 12, 2008 |date=March 12, 2008}}</ref>

Ferraro continued to engage the issue and criticize the Obama campaign via her position as a [[Fox News Channel]] contributor.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/geraldine-ferraro-reacts-to-barack-obamas-speech-on-race | title=Geraldine Ferraro Reacts to Barack Obama's Speech on Race | work=America's Election HQ | publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] | date=March 24, 2008 | access-date=May 19, 2008 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510161254/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C341301%2C00.html | archive-date=May 10, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/geraldine-ferraro-reacts-to-liberal-radio-hosts-foul-comments | title=Geraldine Ferraro Reacts to Liberal Radio Host's Foul Comments | work=America's Election HQ | publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] | date=April 3, 2008 | access-date=May 19, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517150325/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346392,00.html | archive-date=May 17, 2008 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="fn040808">{{cite news | url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/can-people-talk-about-race-in-america-without-being-branded-racist | title=Can People Talk About Race in America Without Being Branded Racist? | work=[[The O'Reilly Factor]] | publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] | date=April 7, 2008 | access-date=May 19, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422232559/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,348330,00.html | archive-date=April 22, 2008 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> By early April, Ferraro said people were deluging her with negative comments and trying to get her removed from one of the boards she was on: "This has been the worst three weeks of my life."<ref name="fn040808"/> Ferraro stated in mid-{{Nowrap|May 2008}} that Clinton had "raised this whole woman candidate thing to a whole different level than when I ran".<ref name="nyt051908"/> She thought Obama had behaved in a [[sexism|sexist]] manner and that she might not vote for him.<ref name="nyt051908">{{cite news | author = Kantor, Jodi | author-link = Jodi Kantor | title=Gender Issue Lives on as Clinton's Bid Wanes | date=May 19, 2008 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19women.html | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref>

During September 2008, Ferraro gained attention yet again after the announcement of [[Sarah Palin]] as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, the first such major party bid for a woman since her own in 1984.<ref name="hc090408"/><ref name="nw-2008-cover"/><ref name="nbc100108"/> Palin mentioned Ferraro as well as Clinton as forerunners in her introductory appearance.<ref>Kornblut, ''Notes from the Cracked Ceiling'', pp. 90–91.</ref> In reaction to the nomination, Ferraro said, "It's great to be the first, but I don't want to be the only. And so now it is wonderful to see a woman on a national ticket."<ref name="npr083008">{{cite news | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94143843 | title=Ferraro: 'Wonderful To See Woman On Natl. Ticket' | author=Lyden, Jacki | work=[[All Things Considered]] | publisher=[[NPR]] | date=August 30, 2008 | access-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref> Ferraro speculated that the pick might win Republican presidential nominee [[John McCain]] the election,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/29/this-might-do-it-for-mccain/ | title=This Might Do It for McCain | publisher=[[Fox News]] | author=Ferraro, Geraldine | date=August 29, 2008 | access-date=August 29, 2008}}</ref> but said that she was supporting Obama now due to his running mate selection of [[Joe Biden]] having resolved her concerns about Obama's lack of experience in certain areas.<ref name="hc090408">{{cite news | url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/09/huckabee_ferraro_on_hannity_co.html | title=Huckabee & Ferraro on 'Hannity & Colmes' | work=[[Hannity & Colmes]] | publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] | date=September 4, 2008 | access-date=December 14, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Geraldine Ferraro Speaks Out | date=October 31, 2008 | url=https://www.pbs.org/now/shows/443/Geraldine-Ferraro.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111123241/http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/443/Geraldine-Ferraro.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 11, 2012 | publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref> Ferraro criticized the media's scrutiny of Palin's background and family as gender-based and saw parallels with how she was treated by the media during her own run;<ref name="hc090408"/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4677831.ece | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918073138/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4677831.ece | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 18, 2011 | title=Geraldine Ferraro accuses media over 'sexist' scrutiny of Sarah Palin | author=Baldwin, Tom | newspaper = [[The Times]] | date=September 5, 2008 | access-date=July 11, 2009 | location=London}}</ref> a [[University of Alabama]] study also found that media [[Framing (social sciences)|framing]] of Ferraro and Palin was similar and often revolved around their nominations being political gambles.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/27/Study-Media-treat-Ferraro-Palin-the-same/UPI-59311225086192/ | title=Study: Media treat Ferraro, Palin the same | publisher=United Press International | date=October 27, 2008 | access-date=July 11, 2009}}</ref> A ''[[Newsweek]]'' cover story detected a change in how women voters responded to a female vice presidential candidate from Ferraro's time to Palin's, but Ferraro correctly predicted that the bounce that McCain received from the Palin pick would dissipate.<ref name="nw-2008-cover">{{cite news | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/158893 | title=From Seneca Falls to ... Sarah Palin? | author=Baird, Julia | magazine = [[Newsweek]] | date=September 13, 2008 | access-date=July 11, 2009}}</ref> In a friendly joint retrospective of her 1984 debate with George H. W. Bush, Ferraro said she had had more national issues experience in 1984 than Palin did now, but that it was important that Palin make a good showing in [[United States vice-presidential debate, 2008|her vice presidential debate]] so that "little girls [could] see someone there who can stand toe to toe with [Biden]."<ref name="nbc100108">{{cite news | url=https://www.today.com/news/ex-rivals-bush-ferraro-preview-biden-palin-face-wbna26973494 | title=Ex-rivals Bush, Ferraro preview Biden-Palin face-off | work=[[Today (NBC program)|Today]] | publisher=[[NBC]] | date=October 1, 2008 | access-date=December 14, 2008}}</ref> McCain and Palin ended up losing, but regardless of the 1984 or 2008 election result, Ferraro said that "Every time a woman runs, women win."<ref name="nw-2008-cover"/>

==Later years and death==
After her 1998 diagnosis, Ferraro continued to battle multiple myeloma, making repeated visits to hospitals during her last year and undergoing difficult procedures.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/geraldine-ferraro-this-friend-was-a-fighter/2011/03/28/AF5VCCpB_story.html | title=Geraldine Ferraro: This friend was a fighter | first=Ellen | last=Goodman | author-link=Ellen Goodman | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=March 28, 2011 | access-date=March 28, 2011}}</ref> Much of her care took place at [[Dana–Farber Cancer Institute]] in Boston, where she also acted as an informal advocate for other patients.<ref name="fort-care">{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/03/28/news/geraldine_ferraro.fortune/ |title=The Ferraro-Corman connection: Brought together by a killer disease |first=Carol |last=Loomis |author-link=Carol Loomis |magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |date=March 28, 2011 |access-date=March 28, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401225856/http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/28/news/geraldine_ferraro.fortune/ |archive-date=April 1, 2011 }}</ref> She was able to make a joint appearance with Palin on Fox News Channel's coverage of the [[2010 United States elections|November 2010 midterm elections]].<ref name="fox-joint">{{cite news | url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/03/28/134924337/ferraro-and-palin-most-exclusive-club-down-to-one-member | title=Ferraro And Palin – Most Exclusive Club Down To One Member | author=James, Frank | publisher=[[NPR]] | date=March 28, 2011 | access-date=March 28, 2011}}</ref>

In {{Nowrap|March 2011}} she went to [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] to receive treatment for pain caused by a fracture, a common complication of multiple myeloma.<ref name="ap-mgh">{{cite news | url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/26/first_vp_candidate_geraldine_ferraro_dies_at_75/?page=full | title=First female VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro dies at 75 | author=Fouhy, Beth | author2=Lindsay, Jay | agency=[[Associated Press]] | newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] | date=March 26, 2011 | access-date=May 30, 2014}}</ref> Once there, however, doctors discovered she had come down with pneumonia. Unable to return to her New York home, Ferraro died at Massachusetts General on {{Nowrap|March 26}}, 2011.<ref name="ap-mgh"/><ref name="nbc-brk">{{cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42283362 | title=Ferraro, first female vice president candidate, dies at 75 | work=[[NBC News]] | date=March 26, 2011 | agency=[[Associated Press]] | access-date=March 26, 2011}}</ref> In addition to her husband and three children, who were all present, she was survived by eight grandchildren.<ref name="ap-mgh"/><ref name="cnn-psng"/>

President Obama said upon her death that "Geraldine will forever be remembered as a trailblazer who broke down barriers for women, and Americans of all backgrounds and walks of life", and said that his own two daughters would grow up in a more equal country because of what Ferraro had done.<ref name="fox-tribs">{{cite news | url=http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/03/26/reaction-geraldine-ferraros-death | title=Reaction to Geraldine Ferraro's Death | publisher=[[Fox News]] | date=March 26, 2011 | access-date=March 26, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726130628/http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/03/26/reaction-geraldine-ferraros-death | archive-date=July 26, 2011 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Mondale called her "a remarkable woman and a dear human being&nbsp;... She was a pioneer in our country for justice for women and a more open society. She broke a lot of molds and it's a better country for what she did."<ref name="nbc-brk"/> George H. W. Bush said, "Though we were one-time political opponents, I am happy to say Gerry and I became friends in time – a friendship marked by respect and affection. I admired Gerry in many ways, not the least of which was the dignified and principled manner she blazed new trails for women in politics."<ref name="fox-tribs"/> Sarah Palin paid tribute to her on Facebook, expressing gratitude for having been able to work with her the year before and saying, "She broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more. May her example of hard work and dedication to America continue to inspire all women."<ref name="fox-joint"/> Bill and Hillary Clinton said in a statement that, "Gerry Ferraro was one of a kind – tough, brilliant, and never afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believed in – a New York icon and a true American original."<ref name="cnn-psng">{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/26/obit.geraldine.ferraro/index.html | title='Trailblazer' Geraldine Ferraro dies at age 75 | publisher=CNN | date=March 26, 2011 | access-date=March 26, 2011}}</ref>

A [[funeral Mass]] was held for her on March 31 at the [[Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (New York)|Church of St. Vincent Ferrer]] in New York, the site where Ferraro and Zaccaro had been married and had renewed their vows on their 50th anniversary the year before.<ref name="nyt-fune">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/nyregion/01ferraro.html | title=At Funeral, Recalling Ferraro's Grit and Humor | author=Pogrebin, Robin | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=March 31, 2011 | access-date=March 31, 2011}}</ref> Figures from local, state, and national politics were present, and Mondale and both Clintons were among the speakers.<ref name="nyt-fune"/><ref name="qg-fune"/> She is buried in [[St. John Cemetery, Queens, New York|St. John Cemetery]] in [[Middle Village, Queens]], within her old congressional district.<ref name="qg-fune">{{cite news | url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2011-04-06/Political_Page/Ferraro_Eulogized_Laid_To_Rest_In_Queens.html | title=Ferraro Eulogized, Laid To Rest in Queens | newspaper=[[The Queens Gazette]] | date=April 6, 2011 | access-date=April 12, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322002342/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2011-04-06/Political_Page/Ferraro_Eulogized_Laid_To_Rest_In_Queens.html | archive-date=March 22, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

When Hillary Clinton finally captured the Democratic nomination in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]], becoming the first woman to do so for a major party, there was considerable media commentary recalling, and relating this to, Ferraro's breakthrough 32 years earlier.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/us/politics/women-white-house-clinton-geraldine-ferraro.html | title=To Understand Clinton's Moment, Consider That It Came 32 Years After Ferraro's | first=Alison | last=Mitchell | newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=June 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/rita-ciolli/hillary-clinton-geraldine-ferraro-32-years-later-the-gender-debate-lingers-1.12357661 | title=Hillary Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro – 32 years later the gender debate lingers | first=Rita | last=Ciolli | newspaper=[[Newsday]] | date=September 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/165351-hillary-clinton-doesnt-get-my-feminist-heart-pumping-the-way-geraldine-ferraro-did-the-goosebump-gap | title=Hillary Clinton Doesn't Get My Feminist Heart Pumping The Way Geraldine Ferraro Did: The Goosebump Gap | first=Lynn | last=Sherr | magazine=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]] | date=June 7, 2016}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
[[File:Geraldine Ferraro Campus.jpg|thumb|right|P.S. 290Q Geraldine Ferraro Campus in Queens.]]
Ferraro was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] in 1994.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=61 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501225958/http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=61 | archive-date=May 1, 2008 | title=Women of the Hall: Geraldine Ferraro | publisher=[[National Women's Hall of Fame]] | access-date=August 28, 2008}}</ref>

Ferraro received [[honorary degree]]s during the 1980s and early 1990s, from [[Marymount Manhattan College]] (1982), [[New York University Law School]] (1984), [[Hunter College]] (1985), [[Plattsburgh College]] (1985), [[College of Boca Raton]] (1989), [[Virginia State University]] (1989), [[Muhlenberg College]] (1990), [[Briarcliffe College|Briarcliffe College for Business]] (1990), and [[Potsdam College]] (1991).<ref name="wwaw">''Who's Who of American Women 2006–2007'', p. 610.</ref> She subsequently received an honorary degree from [[Case Western Reserve University]] (2003).<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.cwru.edu/pubaff/univcomm/2003/5-03/honordegrees.htm | title=Five receive honorary degrees | publisher=[[Case Western Reserve University]] | date=May 19, 2003 | access-date=November 25, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606174310/http://www.cwru.edu/pubaff/univcomm/2003/5-03/honordegrees.htm | archive-date=June 6, 2011 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

During her time in Congress, Ferraro received numerous awards from local organizations in Queens.<ref name="mmc-papers"/>

In 2007, Ferraro received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Sons of Italy Foundation]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.blankromegr.com/index.cfm?contentID=31&itemID=195 |title=Geraldine Ferraro Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Sons of Italy |publisher=[[Blank Rome]] |date=May 24, 2007 |access-date=June 25, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708013127/http://www.blankromegr.com/index.cfm?contentID=31&itemID=195 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 }}</ref> In 2008, Ferraro was the initial recipient of the annual Trailblazer Award from the National Conference of Women's Bar Associations,<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.blankrome.com/index.cfm?contentID=46&itemID=1339 |title=Geraldine Ferraro Honored at National Conference of Women's Bar Associations with Trailblazer Award |publisher=[[Blank Rome]] |date=August 8, 2008 |access-date=June 25, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and received the Edith I. Spivack Award from the [[New York County Lawyers' Association]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://nycla.org/siteFiles/Publications/Publications1151_0.pdf | title=Geraldine Ferraro to Receive NYCLA's Edith I. Spivack Award on March 17 | publisher=[[New York County Lawyers' Association]] | date=February 28, 2008 | access-date=March 7, 2012 | archive-date=January 1, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101124345/http://nycla.org/siteFiles/Publications/Publications1151_0.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2009, legislation passed the House of Representatives calling for a post office in [[Long Island City]] in Queens to be renamed for Ferraro,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2009/05/13/news/top_stories/doc4a0af2f7ed14a456288806.txt |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917181526/http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2009/05/13/news/top_stories/doc4a0af2f7ed14a456288806.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |title=Bill passes to rename Queens Post Office after Geraldine Ferraro |author=Davis, Pete |newspaper=[[The Queens Courier]] |date=May 13, 2009 |access-date=June 8, 2009 }}</ref> and in 2010, the Geraldine A. Ferraro Post Office was accordingly rededicated.<ref name="licj-2010">{{cite news | url=http://www.licjournal.com/view/full_story/9260595/article-LIC-post-office-renamed-for-Geraldine-Ferraro | title=LIC post office renamed for Geraldine Ferraro | author=Bush, Daniel | newspaper=[[The Long Island City / Astoria Journal]] | date=August 26, 2010 | access-date=April 27, 2013 | archive-date=February 27, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227104224/http://www.licjournal.com/view/full_story/9260595/article-LIC-post-office-renamed-for-Geraldine-Ferraro | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the fall of 2013, [[List of public elementary schools in New York City|P.S. 290Q]] in [[Ridgewood, Queens]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ps290q.com/ | title=A.C.E Academy for Scholars at the Geraldine Ferraro Campus | publisher=New York Department of Education | date=2018 | access-date=May 17, 2023}}</ref> was reopened as the A.C.E. Academy for Scholars on the Geraldine A. Ferraro Campus.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former Queens Elementary School To Be Named For Geraldine Ferraro |url=http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/181001/former-queens-elementary-school-to-be-named-for-geraldine-ferraro |publisher=[[NY1 News]] |date=April 24, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521091125/http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/181001/former-queens-elementary-school-to-be-named-for-geraldine-ferraro |archive-date=May 21, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="TL campus">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/43/ferraroschool_tl_2013_10_25_q.html|title=New school campus named for Geraldine Ferraro|last=Fortis|first=Bianca|date=October 25, 2013|work=Times Ledger|access-date=December 7, 2014|archive-date=December 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210002617/http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/43/ferraroschool_tl_2013_10_25_q.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2018 she was chosen by the [[National Women's History Project]] as one of its honorees for [[Women's History Month]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending-now/national-womens-history-month-what-is-it-when-did-it-begin-who-is-being-honored-this-year-1/706593423 |title=National Women's History Month: What is it, when did it begin, who is being honored this year?|first=Debbie|agency=[[Cox Media Group]]|last=Lord|date=February 25, 2018|publisher=[[KIRO-TV]]|location=Seattle}}</ref>

==Electoral history==
'''Democratic primary for the 1978 [[New York's 9th congressional district]] election'''<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=ferraro+10254+manton+5499+3603&btnG=Search+Books | title=Almanac of American Politics, 1980: The Senators, the Representatives, the Governors&nbsp;— Their Records, States, and Districts | author = Barone, Michael | author-link = Michael Barone (pundit) |author2=Ujifusa, Grant |author3=Matthews, Douglas | publisher=[[E. P. Dutton]] | year=1979| page=593}}</ref>
* '''Geraldine Ferraro'''&nbsp;– 10,254 (52.98%)
* [[Thomas J. Manton]]&nbsp;– 5,499 (28.41%)
* Patrick C. Deignan&nbsp;– 3,603 (18.61%)

'''1978 New York's 9th congressional district election'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1978election.pdf|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November&nbsp;7, 1978|access-date=June 27, 2009|date=April 1, 1979|publisher=[[U.S. Government Printing Office]]|author=Guthrie, Benjamin J.|page=25}}</ref>
* '''Geraldine Ferraro''' (D)&nbsp;– 51,350 (54.17%)
* [[Alfred A. DelliBovi]] (R, [[Conservative Party (New York)|Conservative]])&nbsp;– 42,108 (44.42%)
* Theodore E. Garrison ([[Liberal Party of New York|Liberal]])&nbsp;– 1,329 (1.40%)

'''1980 New York's 9th congressional district election'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf|title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November&nbsp;4, 1980|access-date=June 27, 2009|date=April 15, 1981|publisher=[[U.S. Government Printing Office]]|author=Ladd, Thomas E.|page=41}}</ref>
* '''Geraldine Ferraro''' (D) (Inc.)&nbsp;– 63,796 (58.34%)
* Vito P. Battista (R, Conservative, [[New York State Right to Life Party|Right to Life]])&nbsp;– 44,473 (40.67%)
* Gertrude Geniale (Liberal)&nbsp;– 1,091 (1.00%)

'''1982 New York's 9th congressional district election'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1982election.pdf|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November&nbsp;2, 1982|access-date=June 27, 2009|date=May 5, 1983|publisher=[[U.S. Government Printing Office]]|author=Ladd, Thomas E.|page=27}}</ref>
* '''Geraldine Ferraro''' (D) (Inc.)&nbsp;– 75,286 (73.22%)
* John J. Weigandt (R)&nbsp;– 20,352 (19.79%)
* Ralph G. Groves (Conservative)&nbsp;– 6,011 (5.85%)
* Patricia A. Salargo (Liberal)&nbsp;– 1,171 (1.14%)

[[Image:Vintage Geraldine Ferraro For Vice President 1984 Campaign Pinback Button (21892061646).jpg|thumb|right]]

'''[[1984 Democratic National Convention]] (vice-presidential tally)'''{{refn|group=nb|See {{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml | title=All The Votes...Really | author=Holland, Keating | publisher=CNN | year=1996| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000930224301/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml | archive-date=September 30, 2000}}  In actuality, the 1984 Democratic vice-presidential roll call only went through Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona. Arkansas then passed to New York; New York cast all its votes for Ferraro; and New York then moved that Ferraro be nominated by acclamation, which was approved by overwhelming voice vote. See Ferraro, ''My Story'', pp. 6–7.}}
* '''Geraldine Ferraro'''&nbsp;– 3,920
* [[Shirley Chisholm]]&nbsp;– 3

'''[[1984 United States presidential election]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1984election.pdf|title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November&nbsp;6, 1984|access-date=June 27, 2009|date=May 1, 1985|publisher=[[U.S. Government Printing Office]]|author=Ladd, Thomas E.|page=69}}</ref>
* [[Ronald Reagan]]/[[George H. W. Bush]] (R) (Inc.)&nbsp;– 54,166,829 (58.5%) and 525 electoral votes (49 states carried)
* [[Walter Mondale]]/'''Geraldine Ferraro''' (D)&nbsp;– 37,449,813 (40.4%) and 13 electoral votes (1 state and D.C. carried)
* [[David Bergland]]/[[James A. Lewis (politician)|Jim Lewis]] (L)&nbsp;– 227,204 (0.2%) and 0 electoral votes

'''Democratic primary for the [[1992 United States Senate election in New York|1992 U.S. Senate election]]'''<ref name="nyt100192">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/01/nyregion/abrams-gets-a-concession-from-ferraro.html | title=Abrams Gets A Concession From Ferraro | author=Verhovek, Sam Howe | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date=October 1, 1992}}</ref>
* [[Robert Abrams]]&nbsp;– 426,904 (37%)
* '''Geraldine Ferraro'''&nbsp;– 415,650 (36%)
* [[Al Sharpton]]&nbsp;– 166,665 (14%)
* [[Elizabeth Holtzman]]&nbsp;– 144,026 (12%)

'''Democratic primary for the [[1998 United States Senate election in New York|1998 U.S. Senate election]]'''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe1998/98senate.htm | title=Federal Elections 98: 1998 U.S. Senate Results | publisher=[[Federal Election Commission]] | date=April 1999 | access-date=June 27, 2009}}</ref>
* [[Chuck Schumer]]&nbsp;– 388,701 (50.83%)
* '''Geraldine Ferraro'''&nbsp;– 201,625 (26.37%)
* [[Mark Green (New York politician)|Mark Green]]&nbsp;– 145,819 (19.07%)
* Eric Ruano-Melendez&nbsp;– 28,493 (3.73%)

==See also==
*[[Women in the United States House of Representatives]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | last=Braden | first=Maria | title=Women Politicians and the Media | publisher=[[The University Press of Kentucky]] | location=Lexington, Kentucky | year=1996 | isbn=0-8131-1970-7}}
* {{cite book | last=Chesler | first=Ellen | chapter=Introduction | title=Where Human Rights Begin: Health, Sexuality, and Women in the New Millennium | url=https://archive.org/details/wherehumanrights0000chav | url-access=registration | editor=Chavkin, Wendy |editor2=Chesler, Ellen | publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] | year=2005 | isbn=0-8135-3657-X}}
* {{cite book | last1=Clift | first1=Eleanor | author-link=Eleanor Clift | last2=Brazaitis | first2=Tom | title=Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling | publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] | year=2000 | isbn=0-684-85619-0 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/madampresidentsh0000clif }}
* {{cite book | last=Falk | first=Erika | title=Women for President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns | publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-252-07511-7}}
* {{cite book| last=Ferraro | first=Geraldine A. | author2=Francke, Linda Bird | title=Ferraro: My Story | publisher=[[Bantam Books]] | year=1985 | isbn=0-553-05110-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/ferraromystory00ferr }}
* {{cite book | title=Changing History: Women, Power and Politics | first=Geraldine A. | last=Ferraro | isbn=1-55921-077-X | publisher=Moyer Bell | year=1993 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/changinghistoryw0000ferr }}
* {{cite book| last=Ferraro | first=Geraldine | author2=Whitney, Catherine | title=Framing a Life: A Family Memoir | publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] | year=1998 | isbn=0-684-85404-X | url=https://archive.org/details/framinglife00gera }}
* {{cite book | last=Foerstel | first=Herbert N. | title=Climbing the Hill: Gender Conflict in Congress | publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] | year=1996 | isbn=0-275-94914-1}}
* {{cite book| last1=Germond | first1=Jack | author-link=Jack Germond | last2=Witcover | first2=Jules | author-link2=Jules Witcover | title=Wake Us When It's Over: Presidential Politics of 1984 | publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] | year=1985 | isbn=0-02-630710-3 | url=https://archive.org/details/wakeuswhenitsove00germ }}
* {{cite book| last=Goldman | first=Peter | author2=Fuller, Tony | title=The Quest for the Presidency 1984 | publisher=[[Bantam Books]] | year=1985 | isbn=0-553-05100-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/questforpreside00gold }}
* {{cite book| editor1-last=Gottro | editor1-first=Martha V. | title=Congress and the Nation: A Review of Government and Politics Vol. V: 1977–1980 | publisher=[[Congressional Quarterly, Inc]] | year=1981 | isbn=0-87187-112-2 | url=https://archive.org/details/congressnation45-64cong }}
* {{cite book | editor1-last=Cohn | editor1-first=Mary W. | title=Congress and the Nation: A Review of Government and Politics Vol. VI: 1981–1984 | publisher=[[Congressional Quarterly, Inc]] | year=1985 | isbn=0-87187-334-6}}
* {{cite book| last=Jamieson | first=Kathleen Hall | author-link=Kathleen Hall Jamieson | title=Beyond the Double Bind: Women and Leadership | year=1995 | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | isbn=0-19-508940-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/beyonddoublebind00jami }}
* {{cite book| first=Anne E. | last=Kornblut | author-link=Anne E. Kornblut | title=Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and What It Will Take for a Woman to Win | publisher=[[Crown Books]] | location=New York | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-307-46425-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/notesfromcracked00korn }}
* {{cite book | last=Light | first=Paul C. | author2=Lake, Celinda | chapter=The Election: Candidates, Strategies and Decisions | title=The Elections of 1984 | editor=Nelson, Michael | publisher=[[Congressional Quarterly, Inc]] | year=1985 | isbn=0-87187-330-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/electionsof198400nels }}
* {{cite book| last=Lurie | first=Leonard | title=Senator Pothole: The Unauthorized Biography of Al D'Amato | publisher=Birch Lane Press | year=1994 | isbn=1-55972-227-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/senatorpotholeun00luri }}
* {{cite book | editor = Moritz, Charles | title=[[Current Biography Yearbook|Current Biography Yearbook 1984]] | publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company]] | location=New York | year=1985 <!-- book has no ISBN -->}}
* {{cite book | editor=Nelson, Michael | title=Historic Documents on Presidential Elections 1787–1988 | publisher=[[Congressional Quarterly, Inc]] | year=1991 | isbn=0-87187-607-8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/historicdocument0000unse_j5k2 }}
* {{cite book| last=O'Neill | first=Tip | author-link=Tip O'Neill | author2=Novak, William | title=Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill | publisher=[[Random House]] | year=1987 | isbn=0-394-55201-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/manofhouseli00onei }}
* {{cite book | last=Patterson | first=Thomas E. | author2=Dani, Richard | chapter=The Media Campaign: Struggle for the Agenda | title=The Elections of 1984 | editor=Nelson, Michael | publisher=[[Congressional Quarterly, Inc]] | year=1985 | isbn=0-87187-330-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/electionsof198400nels }}
* {{cite book | title=The Catholic Vote in American Politics: The Passing of the Democratic Monolith | last=Prendergast | first= William B. | publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] | location=Washington, D.C. | year=1999 | isbn=0-87840-724-3}}
* {{cite book | last=Scala | first=Dante J. | editor-last1 = Shade | editor-first1=William G.|editor-last2=Campbell | editor-first2=Ballard C. | title=American Presidential Campaigns and Elections | publisher=M.E. Sharpe Inc | year=2003 | isbn=0-7656-8042-4}}
* {{cite book| last=Schumer | first=Chuck | author-link=Charles Schumer | title=Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time | publisher=[[Rodale Books]] | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-59486-572-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/positivelyameric00schu }}
* {{cite book | last=Watson | first=Robert P. | author2=Gordon, Ann | title=Anticipating Madam President | publisher=[[Lynne Rienner Publishers]] | year=2003 | isbn=1-58826-113-1 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/anticipatingmada0000unse }}
* {{cite book | title=Who's Who of American Women 2006–2007 | publisher=[[Marquis Who's Who]] | location=New Providence, New Jersey | year=2005 | isbn=0-8379-0432-3}}
* {{cite book | title=Women in Congress, 1917–1990  | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OvMnhNZcsDkC | publisher=DIANE Publishing | year=1997 | isbn=0-7881-4256-9}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{CongBio|F000088}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0274170}}
* [http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/ferraro-acceptance/ Text of speech accepting Democratic Party nomination for Vice President of the United States, {{Nowrap|July 19}}, 1984]
* [http://vault.fbi.gov/geraldine-ferraro FBI file on Geraldine Ferraro]
* [http://www.makers.com/geraldine-ferraro "Geraldine Ferraro"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626163913/http://www.makers.com/geraldine-ferraro |date=June 26, 2017 }} – Video produced by ''[[Makers: Women Who Make America]]''
* ''[http://www.ferraropavingtheway.com Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way]'' – Documentary film about Geraldine Ferraro
* {{C-SPAN|1305}}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/geraldine-a-ferraro "Geraldine A. Ferraro collected news and commentary"] at ''The New York Times''
* {{Find a Grave|67469199}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferraro, Geraldine}}
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