Ellen Cullen McCormack (September 15, 1926 – March 27, 2011) was an American politician who was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Early life

On September 15, 1926, Eleanor Rose Cullen was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

borough of New York City, to Irish immigrants William and Ellen Cullen. In 1949, she married Francis J. McCormack, after meeting him at a dance, and had four children with him.

Career

On July 14, 1975, McCormack filed with the Federal Election Commission to run in the 1976 presidential primary, and formally announced her candidacy at a news conference in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 16. She was the first woman to receive federal

matching funds Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used interc ...

, which she received $244,125 in, and appeared on the ballot in twenty states. She ran on an exclusively "

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

" platform, and won no primaries, but had her name placed into nomination and received 22 votes from delegates at the

1976 Democratic National Convention The 1976 Democratic National Convention met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The assembled United States Democratic Party delegates at the convention nominated former Governor Jimmy Carter of Geor ...

, and engaged in a debate that also included future President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. During the 1980 presidential election, she ran as the presidential nominee of the

New York State Right to Life Party The New York State Right to Life Party was a minor anti-abortion American political party that was active only in the state of New York and was founded to oppose the legalization of abortion in New York State in 1970. History In 1970 the Right t ...

, with Carroll Driscoll as her running mate. They received 32,327 votes. She had been a chairwoman of the New York Right to Life Party, and was their candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Later life

On March 27, 2011, she died in an assisted-living facility in Avon, Connecticut, after a long period with a heart ailment which originated during one of her pregnancies.

References

1926 births 2011 deaths Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1980 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians Female candidates for President of the United States New York State Right to Life Party politicians People from the Bronx American anti-abortion activists People from Long Island Activists from New York (state) 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women {{NewYork-politician-stub