Theodora Nathalia "Tonie" Nathan (born 9 February 1923) is the first woman to have received an electoral vote in a United States presidential election. She was the 1972 Libertarian candidate (on the ticket with John Hospers

John Hospers

John Hospers was an American philosopher. In 1972 he was the first presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, and the only minor party candidate to receive an electoral vote in the 1972 U.S. Presidential election....

) for vice president

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 when Roger MacBride

Roger MacBride

Roger Lea MacBride was an American lawyer, political figure, and television producer. He was the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1976 election....

, a Republican elector from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, cast the historic vote.

Early life

Born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to Jewish parents, Nathan operated her own insurance agency, a music publishing firm and a decorating service in the Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 area of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 before moving to Eugene

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. She earned a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 from the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 in 1971. Tonie Nathan also produced (and sometimes hosted) a daily talk show on KVAL-TV (CBS affiliate) in Eugene for 14 months prior to her vice-presidential campaign. She also hosted several radio talk shows during that period.

1972 Presidential election

Nathan was still a radio and television producer in Eugene when she attended the first presidential nominating convention of the Libertarian Party in 1972. She was nominated by the delegates in attendance to run for vice president with presidential candidate John Hospers

John Hospers

John Hospers was an American philosopher. In 1972 he was the first presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, and the only minor party candidate to receive an electoral vote in the 1972 U.S. Presidential election....

, chairman of the philosophy department at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

. The ticket received only 3,671 official votes; however, Republican elector Roger L. MacBride of Virginia chose to vote for Hospers and Nathan instead of Nixon and Agnew

Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

.

Senate and House of Representatives campaigns

Following her vice-presidential run, which netted the Libertarian party its first electoral vote ever, she made a series of unsuccessful runs as a Libertarian candidate during the 1970s through the 1990s, for offices including the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 and the House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.

In the 1980 Oregon Senate election

United States Senate election in Oregon, 1980

The 1980 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1980 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.-Volcano eruption:The...

, Nathan participated in three statewide television debates with then-U.S. Senator Bob Packwood

Bob Packwood

Robert William "Bob" Packwood is a U.S. politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and assault of women emerged.-Early life and career:Packwood was born in...

 and then-State Senator Ted Kulongoski

Ted Kulongoski

Theodore R. "Ted" Kulongoski is an American politician, who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon. A Democrat, he has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as the state Insurance Commissioner, the Attorney General, and an Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court.-Early...

. She received 43,686 votes for 3.83% of the vote.

In 1990 Nathan ran as a Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for Oregon's 4th Congressional district

Oregon's 4th congressional district

Oregon's 4th congressional district represents the southern half of Oregon's coastal counties, including Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, and Linn counties and most of Benton and Josephine counties...

. She was the lone challenger to incumbent Congressman Peter DeFazio

Peter DeFazio

Peter Anthony DeFazio is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Eugene, Springfield, Roseburg and part of Corvallis. As Oregon's most senior member of Congress, he is the dean of Oregon's House of Representatives delegation...

 and received 26,432 votes for 14% of the vote.

Personal

She is married to Charles "Chuck" Nathan, an ASCAP composer who wrote top-ten hit songs in the 1950s, and together they have three sons. She is presently marketing her husband's musicals and writing an autobiography.

Nathan was also a co-founder of both the Association of Libertarian Feminists and the Libertarian Party

Libertarian Party (United States)

The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...

.