Minnesota Now and Then: Democratic National Conventions in 1984 and 2024 were momentous for women in politics
Marlene Johnson, left, speaking to Ember Reichgott Junge at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.
Courtesy of Ember Reichgott Junge
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There’s a parallel between the Democratic National Conventions of 2024 and 1984. Forty years ago a Minnesota Democrat was at the top of a history-making presidential ticket. Former Minnesota Senator and U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale was running for president alongside
Geraldine Ferraro, a U.S. representative from New York — and the first woman nominated by a major party for VP. Hillary Clinton remembered that moment Monday night in a speech at this year’s DNC.
Clinton drew a line from former U.S. representative Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 run for president to Ferraro‘s bid for VP to her own historic race in 2016 against former President Donald Trump. And she expressed hope that Vice President Kamala Harris can become the first woman president.
In Minnesota, a Harris win would also mean Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan would become the first Native American woman governor in the U.S. — and the first woman governor of Minnesota, period.
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Every lieutenant governor since 1983 has been a woman, across Republican, Democrat, and Independent administrations, but none have held the top job. Ember Reichgott Junge has spent her life involved in Minnesota politics.
And she was also at the 1984 DNC as a young, Democratic state senator and a delegate for Minnesota. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to reflect on her time then — and the DNC now.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: We've been watching the Democratic National Convention, of course, and there's a parallel between the Democratic National Conventions of this year, 2024, and 1984. 40 years ago, a Minnesota Democrat was at the top of a history-making presidential ticket. former Minnesota Senator and US Vice President Walter Mondale was running for president alongside Geraldine Ferraro, who was a US Representative from the state of New York and the first woman nominated by a major party for VP.
Hillary Clinton remembered that moment last night in this speech at this year's DNC.
HILLARY CLINTON: In 1984, I brought my daughter to see Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman nominated for vice president.
[APPLAUSE]
If we can do this, Geri said, we can do anything.
CATHY WURZER: Clinton drew a line from former US Representative Shirley Chisholm's 1972 run for president to Ferraro's bid for VP to her own historic but failed race in 2016 against former President Trump. Now, in 2024, Clinton expressed hope that Vice President Kamala Harris can become the first female United States president.
HILLARY CLINTON: I wish my mother and Kamala's mother could see us. They would say, keep going. Shirley and Geri would say, keep going.
CATHY WURZER: In Minnesota, a Harris win would also mean Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan would become the first Native American woman governor in the US and the first woman governor of this state, period. Every lieutenant governor since 1983 has been a woman across Republican, Democratic and independent administrations, but none have held the top job. My next guest has spent her professional life involved in Minnesota politics. She was also at the 1984 DNC as a young Democratic State Senator and a delegate for the state of Minnesota. Ember Reichgott Junge is on the line. It's good to talk with you, my friend. How have you been?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Hello, Cathy. Thank you. It's good to be here.
CATHY WURZER: You were all of 29 years old. When you were elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1982. Let me see now. You would have been 31 in 1984 when Walter Mondale introduced Geraldine Ferraro in the Minnesota House chambers. You remember that?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: That's right. Well, I remember that in the House chambers, but I also remember it when I was at the convention. And I still recall the electricity that went through that arena when Geraldine Ferraro came out as the first woman ever selected for vice president. I mean, it was a courageous choice by Vice President Walter Mondale. It really was. And it was very much ahead of its time. And, I need to just tell you, it brought tears to my eyes as a first-term senator and so young. The tears were streaming down my face. And I'm looking around and I'm seeing next to me our Majority Leader, our Norwegian stoic Roger Moe. And frankly, the tears were in his eyes as well. So it was quite an electrifying moment.
And along with that, in our delegation was Joan Growe, who was then running for the US Senate as the first woman endorsed for that, and our first female Lieutenant Governor, Marlene Johnson, which you noted.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, that was quite a delegation. And everyone at that convention, as you say, had tears in their eyes.
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Well, for me as a young woman just starting out in politics, it just seemed to me with those three women that the sky was the limit. It was only a matter of time that we would elect a woman president and a woman governor. But here we are over 40 years later. I'm actually turning 71 this month, and it still hasn't happened. The irony is that we've had no less than nine female lieutenant governors of both parties since that time. No men, but none have risen to governor.
So the unexpected possibility that all this could change in one fell swoop this year is just remarkable. And I think it's important that people understand the historical context here when they vote.
CATHY WURZER: Thanks for bringing up the lieutenant governors. And I was thinking, you mentioned Marlene Johnson, who was the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor. She was alongside Rudy Perpich. I'm wondering, and I'm thinking, for you, though, as you say, have successfully run for higher office, Senator Tina Smith being the exception, I mean, she was Mark Dayton's lieutenant governor. When Al Franken stepped down, he appointed her to the US Senate.
But gosh, Lieutenant Governor hasn't exactly been a great launching pad into higher office for women. What does that say to you?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: I think you're right. First of all, I think the only lieutenant governor who really had a strong shot at it was Joanne Benson, Republican. My Republican colleague in the Senate became the Lieutenant Governor. And then she tried, but she was defeated in the primary. But she gave it a great try. Tina Smith, remember, was appointed as lieutenant governor the first time. And so I think there's a pattern here.
If this election occurs, Kamala Harris was appointed vice president. And Lieutenant Governor Flanagan was appointed lieutenant governor. And it just seems that when there's an appointment, that opens the door broadly for women and they can walk right through it. But when they try to run for it, like Joanne Benson did, like Erin Murphy did a few years ago on the Democratic side, it's just not as easy.
CATHY WURZER: Minnesota's first lady, Gwen Walz, you probably saw that videotape. She was trending on social media earlier this morning for her teary reaction to Hillary Clinton's speech last night, which, as we've been talking about here, underscored the history that could be made if Kamala Harris wins in November. Yet, Kamala Harris is really not making much of perhaps breaking the glass ceiling. She really not talking about it or making it a central part of her own campaign, at least to this point. What's that strategy about, do you think?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: I think it's the right strategy. I think women have run in the past-- and Hillary Clinton ran in the past-- on the fact that she would have been the first woman elected president. And I think we're beyond that now. We don't want identity politics. I mean, there's been so much of that in positive and negative ways. And I think she's doing the right thing by not focusing on being a woman or on her racial identities. And I think what she's really doing instead is changing the whole dynamic of politics right now to make them more fun, more energetic.
Notice how she is just smiling all the time, but she can be direct. And we know she's a prosecutor. We know she's tough, but she's also warm. And I think right now that's what's really lifting her up, as well as her commitment, along with Tim Walz, to lifting up people and not tearing down people. So her whole messaging has changed since Joe Biden, and really, since lot of women candidates have run. I know when I ran for higher office, I was talking about being the first woman in that office. And it just doesn't resonate anymore. And it shouldn't. It should be about who you are as a human being and the policies you care about and what your history is as a person, as an individual.
CATHY WURZER: So speaking of policies, of course, there is a lot of joy and exuberance around the Harris-Walz ticket. I'm wondering, though, there's got to be some substance there. When are we going to start to really dive into the policy? We haven't heard a lot at this point.
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Frankly, we haven't heard a lot of it on the other side either. That is not what this election has been about so far. She's been in this position for a month, and she deserves time to try to put those together. But she has a great basis upon what has happened in the Biden-Harris administration. So she's got a great foundation and she'll build on it. I love her messaging and the ideas behind it of an opportunity economy, about relating to the middle class-- of which she is one. And that I think is resonating and does need some details. And that will be fleshed out going forward.
But for heaven's sakes, it's been four weeks. I think she's done a remarkable job coming out of the gate with no major mistakes. And that has not been easy.
CATHY WURZER: Say, before you go, by the way, happy birthday. You're turning 71 on Thursday. Are you having a watch party to celebrate?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: There is a watch party. I'm going to go there and celebrate. This will be a fabulous way to celebrate with about 1,000 of my friends.
CATHY WURZER: All right. I wish you early happy birthday greetings. Thank you so much.
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Thank you. Take care. Ember Reichgott Junge is a political commentator. She is an attorney, former state senator in the western suburbs.
Hillary Clinton remembered that moment last night in this speech at this year's DNC.
HILLARY CLINTON: In 1984, I brought my daughter to see Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman nominated for vice president.
[APPLAUSE]
If we can do this, Geri said, we can do anything.
CATHY WURZER: Clinton drew a line from former US Representative Shirley Chisholm's 1972 run for president to Ferraro's bid for VP to her own historic but failed race in 2016 against former President Trump. Now, in 2024, Clinton expressed hope that Vice President Kamala Harris can become the first female United States president.
HILLARY CLINTON: I wish my mother and Kamala's mother could see us. They would say, keep going. Shirley and Geri would say, keep going.
CATHY WURZER: In Minnesota, a Harris win would also mean Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan would become the first Native American woman governor in the US and the first woman governor of this state, period. Every lieutenant governor since 1983 has been a woman across Republican, Democratic and independent administrations, but none have held the top job. My next guest has spent her professional life involved in Minnesota politics. She was also at the 1984 DNC as a young Democratic State Senator and a delegate for the state of Minnesota. Ember Reichgott Junge is on the line. It's good to talk with you, my friend. How have you been?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Hello, Cathy. Thank you. It's good to be here.
CATHY WURZER: You were all of 29 years old. When you were elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1982. Let me see now. You would have been 31 in 1984 when Walter Mondale introduced Geraldine Ferraro in the Minnesota House chambers. You remember that?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: That's right. Well, I remember that in the House chambers, but I also remember it when I was at the convention. And I still recall the electricity that went through that arena when Geraldine Ferraro came out as the first woman ever selected for vice president. I mean, it was a courageous choice by Vice President Walter Mondale. It really was. And it was very much ahead of its time. And, I need to just tell you, it brought tears to my eyes as a first-term senator and so young. The tears were streaming down my face. And I'm looking around and I'm seeing next to me our Majority Leader, our Norwegian stoic Roger Moe. And frankly, the tears were in his eyes as well. So it was quite an electrifying moment.
And along with that, in our delegation was Joan Growe, who was then running for the US Senate as the first woman endorsed for that, and our first female Lieutenant Governor, Marlene Johnson, which you noted.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, that was quite a delegation. And everyone at that convention, as you say, had tears in their eyes.
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Well, for me as a young woman just starting out in politics, it just seemed to me with those three women that the sky was the limit. It was only a matter of time that we would elect a woman president and a woman governor. But here we are over 40 years later. I'm actually turning 71 this month, and it still hasn't happened. The irony is that we've had no less than nine female lieutenant governors of both parties since that time. No men, but none have risen to governor.
So the unexpected possibility that all this could change in one fell swoop this year is just remarkable. And I think it's important that people understand the historical context here when they vote.
CATHY WURZER: Thanks for bringing up the lieutenant governors. And I was thinking, you mentioned Marlene Johnson, who was the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor. She was alongside Rudy Perpich. I'm wondering, and I'm thinking, for you, though, as you say, have successfully run for higher office, Senator Tina Smith being the exception, I mean, she was Mark Dayton's lieutenant governor. When Al Franken stepped down, he appointed her to the US Senate.
But gosh, Lieutenant Governor hasn't exactly been a great launching pad into higher office for women. What does that say to you?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: I think you're right. First of all, I think the only lieutenant governor who really had a strong shot at it was Joanne Benson, Republican. My Republican colleague in the Senate became the Lieutenant Governor. And then she tried, but she was defeated in the primary. But she gave it a great try. Tina Smith, remember, was appointed as lieutenant governor the first time. And so I think there's a pattern here.
If this election occurs, Kamala Harris was appointed vice president. And Lieutenant Governor Flanagan was appointed lieutenant governor. And it just seems that when there's an appointment, that opens the door broadly for women and they can walk right through it. But when they try to run for it, like Joanne Benson did, like Erin Murphy did a few years ago on the Democratic side, it's just not as easy.
CATHY WURZER: Minnesota's first lady, Gwen Walz, you probably saw that videotape. She was trending on social media earlier this morning for her teary reaction to Hillary Clinton's speech last night, which, as we've been talking about here, underscored the history that could be made if Kamala Harris wins in November. Yet, Kamala Harris is really not making much of perhaps breaking the glass ceiling. She really not talking about it or making it a central part of her own campaign, at least to this point. What's that strategy about, do you think?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: I think it's the right strategy. I think women have run in the past-- and Hillary Clinton ran in the past-- on the fact that she would have been the first woman elected president. And I think we're beyond that now. We don't want identity politics. I mean, there's been so much of that in positive and negative ways. And I think she's doing the right thing by not focusing on being a woman or on her racial identities. And I think what she's really doing instead is changing the whole dynamic of politics right now to make them more fun, more energetic.
Notice how she is just smiling all the time, but she can be direct. And we know she's a prosecutor. We know she's tough, but she's also warm. And I think right now that's what's really lifting her up, as well as her commitment, along with Tim Walz, to lifting up people and not tearing down people. So her whole messaging has changed since Joe Biden, and really, since lot of women candidates have run. I know when I ran for higher office, I was talking about being the first woman in that office. And it just doesn't resonate anymore. And it shouldn't. It should be about who you are as a human being and the policies you care about and what your history is as a person, as an individual.
CATHY WURZER: So speaking of policies, of course, there is a lot of joy and exuberance around the Harris-Walz ticket. I'm wondering, though, there's got to be some substance there. When are we going to start to really dive into the policy? We haven't heard a lot at this point.
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Frankly, we haven't heard a lot of it on the other side either. That is not what this election has been about so far. She's been in this position for a month, and she deserves time to try to put those together. But she has a great basis upon what has happened in the Biden-Harris administration. So she's got a great foundation and she'll build on it. I love her messaging and the ideas behind it of an opportunity economy, about relating to the middle class-- of which she is one. And that I think is resonating and does need some details. And that will be fleshed out going forward.
But for heaven's sakes, it's been four weeks. I think she's done a remarkable job coming out of the gate with no major mistakes. And that has not been easy.
CATHY WURZER: Say, before you go, by the way, happy birthday. You're turning 71 on Thursday. Are you having a watch party to celebrate?
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: There is a watch party. I'm going to go there and celebrate. This will be a fabulous way to celebrate with about 1,000 of my friends.
CATHY WURZER: All right. I wish you early happy birthday greetings. Thank you so much.
EMBER REICHGOTT JUNGE: Thank you. Take care. Ember Reichgott Junge is a political commentator. She is an attorney, former state senator in the western suburbs.
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