 Ferraro ran campaigns for a seat in the United States Senate from New York in 1992 and 1998 , both times starting as the front @-@ runner for her party 's nomination before losing in the primary election . She served as a United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1993 until 1996 , in the presidential administration of Bill Clinton . She also continued her career as a journalist , author , and businesswoman , and served in the 2008 presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton . Ferraro died on March 26 , 2011 , from multiple myeloma , 12 years after being diagnosed . 
