 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 Delaney announced his retirement . The location for the television series All in the Family , the district , which stretched from Astoria to Ozone Park was known for its ethnic composition and conservative views . In a three @-@ candidate primary race for the Democratic nomination , Ferraro faced two better @-@ known rivals , the party organization candidate , City Councilman Thomas J. Manton and Patrick Deignan . Her main issues were law and order , support for the elderly , and neighborhood preservation . She labeled herself a " ' small c ' conservative " and emphasized that she was not a bleeding @-@ heart liberal ; her campaign slogan was " Finally , A Tough Democrat " . Her Italian heritage also appealed to ethnic residents in the district . She won the three @-@ way primary with 53 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 . 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 . 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 October 1978 , via several real estate transactions . In 1979 , the campaign and Zaccaro paid $ 750 in fines for civil violations of election law . 
