By virtue of her election as Kentucky 's governor , Collins became the highest-ranking Democratic woman in the nation . The only two women in the U.S. Senate at the time were Republicans , and Collins was the only woman governor of any state . Shortly after her election , she appeared on '' Good Morning America '' , where she was asked about her interest in the vice-presidency and gave a non-committal answer . Four days after her inauguration as governor , she was chosen to deliver the Democratic response to President Ronald Reagan 's weekly radio address . At a news conference following her speech , Collins was asked again if she would be willing to be considered as the Democrats ' vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming election ; she replied " No , not at this time . " In mid-1984 , the Democratic National Committee chose Collins to preside over the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco . This engagement prevented Collins from chairing the state delegation to the convention , as was typical of governors . The party appointed Collins ' son , Steve as state chair . Prior to the convention , Walter Mondale , the presumptive presidential nominee , interviewed Collins as a possible vice-presidential candidate before choosing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate . A writer for '' The Miami Herald '' later opined , based on interviews with Mondale advisers , that Collins was never given serious consideration by Mondale . He reported that she was included in his list of potential running mates primarily to blunt potential charges of " tokenism " in considering other women and minorities
1984 Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
Martha Layne Collins