In 1887, as a joke, a group of men snuck her name onto the ballot, intending to show how little support women would get if they ran for office, which would demoralize them and discourage them from trying in the future. She ended up winning with a whole 60% of the vote, and served one year as the mayor of Argonia, Kansas at the age of 27, for which she was paid one dollar. Her story was covered by the New York Sun, and reached as far as Sweden and South Africa during her lifetime.