Widow's succession

In earlier years, women who held office through widow's succession rarely became prominent as politicians in their own right, but were regarded merely as placeholders whose primary role was to retain a seat and a vote for the party rather than risk a protracted fight for the nomination between elections.

Upon the retirement of Effiegene Locke Wingo from the United States House of Representatives in 1932, the New York Sun wrote, Some of the women who have inherited a seat in Congress have demonstrated their individual ability, but of most of them it can be said that they submitted with dignity and good taste to a false code of chivalry, served unostentatiously and departed the Capitol quietly, wondering what the men who invented the term-by-inheritance thought they were doing.

Margaret Chase Smith became the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States Senate and the first woman ever to have her name placed in nomination for the Presidency of the United States at a major party's convention, serving 9 years in the House after replacing her deceased husband, and then serving in the Senate for 24 more years.

In Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who succeeded her assassinated husband, was a long-serving Prime Minister and party leader.

Nancy Astor became the first ever British female Member of Parliament to take her seat after her husband Waldorf was appointed to the House of Lords.

Her husband William B. Ross was governor from 1923 until his death in October 1924, at which point secretary of state Frank Lucas succeeded him.

Unusually, Luke Letlow died before actually being sworn in to office, having won an election to succeed a retiring Congressman.