In 1922 , Jewel became the first woman south of the Mason – Dixon line to run for the U.S. Senate . She narrowly lost the West Virginia Democratic Party nomination to Matthew Neely . At the 1924 Democratic National Convention Jewel 's seconding speech ( the first by a woman in both national parties ) for presidential candidate John W. Davis captivated the usually distracted delegates for its eight-minute duration and was duly rewarded by a warm applause . In 1930 she was unable to unseat her incumbent Republican rival to represent New York 's 30th congressional district and the following year she failed to win a seat in the New York Assembly . Jewel served as Commissioner of Public Welfare for Schenectady in 1932 and 1933 . At one point she was jailed for ignoring a court order to reinstate a fired public employee . Ironically , a judge later voided the contempt of court charge because he felt as a woman she did not fully comprehend the consequences of ignoring the court
1924 Democratic National Convention
1924 Democratic National Convention
Izetta Jewel