Pantsuit Nation, a Facebook group with almost 3 million members that rallied around Hillary Clinton when she ran for president in 2016, is back, reviving itself after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race.
Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee, who could potentially be the second woman to ever top a presidential ticket.
Posters are enthused by the news, calling on group members to donate to Harris’ campaign and warning against Democratic infighting that harmed Clinton’s bid in 2016.
Libby Chamberlain, a mom of two living in Maine, founded Pantsuit Nation in 2016 to encourage Clinton voters to wear pantsuits to the polls as a nod to her sartorial symbol. It grew into a haven for Clinton’s supporters to share how excited they were for the prospect of a female president—and became so influential, in fact, that Clinton thanked the group after she lost the election in 2016.
In 2016, the group raised over $140,000 for Clinton, and in 2019, it became part of SuperMajority, a group that supports a unified women’s voting bloc and advocates for issues affecting women.
Last March, the group was “paused” and many of its moderators laid off. However, shortly after, the group was taken over by the Women’s March, the feminist organization borne out of a 2016 Pantsuit Nation post.
Women’s March moderators were still figuring out how they planned to run the group when Harris announced her candidacy, Women’s March Executive Director Rachel O’Leary Carmona told the Daily Dot.
But Pantsuit Nation members immediately hopped aboard Harris’ candidacy, planning to use their collective power to bring her campaign to victory.
“The group just organized itself, which is how it started,” Carmona said. “We’ve had about 250,000 new active [users] in the last week. People just joining by the thousands.”
Pantsuit Nation members immediately hopped aboard Harris’ candidacy, planning to use their collective power to bring her campaign to victory.
One of the first posts in the group after Biden endorsed Harris received over 6,000 likes.
“I’m just saying, Kamala absolutely slays in a pantsuit,” a group member wrote. “Joe is with her. I hope we can all rally with her and get fired up and ready to go.”
And others expressed their support for Harris, too.
“I was ready 4 years ago when I saw her speak as a presidential nominee in Los Angeles,” a group member posted. As of publication, the post received over 600 likes. “Hillary Clinton cracked the glass ceiling, however Kamala will bust it once and for all!!! 2024 is different than 2016 with the overturn of Roe v Wade. They shouldn’t have messed with us.”
“Did anyone else cry today? I have been so worried, I couldn’t even watch the news since the debate… And then Biden stepping down and endorsing Harris. It makes me really emotional,” another group member said. “I want to live in a country where an African American woman can be the President… Now for the hard work over the next 106 days.”
As of publication, their post received almost 1,000 likes.
Group members immediately got to work: Women are encouraging each other to donate to Harris’ campaign and sharing insights gleaned from a campaign fundraising call attended by thousands.
“If you have not donated to the Harris campaign or can donate again, let’s break another record on day 2,” one group member posted. “LFG!” As of publication, the post received over 3,000 likes.
After Biden endorsed Harris and she officially announced her campaign on Sunday afternoon, supporters donated over $46 million in the following hours. Team Harris announced it raised over $81 million total in the first 24 hours of her new candidacy.
Some of that money came from a Zoom fundraising call organized and attended by prominent Black women in politics. In three hours, over 44,000 Black women, including Reverend Bernice King and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) raised $1.5 million for Harris—and crashed Zoom because of how enormously well-attended the call was.
A Pantsuit Nation member participated in the call and said that Harris supporters’ agreed-upon message will be “#OneVoiceOneFight.” As of publication, their post received over 3,000 likes.
“I was on the call that was organized within 3 hours and garnered over 44,000 Black women on a Zoom call that included members of Congress, and many allies like Anna Navarro who also spoke,” the group member said in a post. “The agreed upon message is: #OneVoiceOneFight. Share the hashtag, because this is OUR fight.”
As of this morning, Harris has surpassed the needed 1,976 delegates to vote for her to win the nomination.
Group members also shared sneaky ways to support Harris, like encouraging members to buy her book, The Truths We Hold, to bump former President Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance’s book, Hillbilly Elegy, off bestseller lists. Vance’s memoir experienced a new wave of popularity last week when Trump named him as his running mate.
“Want to learn more or tell people more about Kamala Harris? Here is her bestselling book from 2019 – let’s make it go viral and knock JD Vance’s book off of the top of the charts right now,” a Pantsuit Nation member posted. As of publication, their post received over 300 likes.
Because of the group’s size, some group members posted warnings about the presence of trolls provoking infighting in the group in the lead up to the election.
“Y’all, right now we all need to be very aware of wolves wearing sheep’s clothing. There will be people presenting themselves as Democrats in various groups (including this one),” a group member posted, receiving over 1,000 likes. “They’ll make comments that seem like they *could* be coming from a legitimately concerned voter but are actually intended to sow division and uncertainty among us. Don’t fall for it.”
Concern, though, was minimal in the face of so much enthusiasm.
Carmona, the Executive Director of the Women’s March, told the Daily Dot that going forward, the group will continue to be a space where members can share their stories, find common cause, and politically organize.
“I don’t think that narrative interventions are as effective as they could be unless they are undergirded by an organizing strategy,” Carmona said. “There’s an opportunity for folks to both tell the stories that get people set up and create community, and then to leverage that community into change via action.”
But there’s still room, given the group’s original name, to praise Harris’ own style choices, with one post praising her signature black Chuck Taylor sneakers and pearl necklace.
It seems “Chucks and Pearls Nation” is a go.
This post has been updated with comment from Women’s March.
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