In 1969, Jael Mbogo was among the first women to campaign for a parliamentary seat since Kenya became independent in 1963. Her opponent was Mwai Kibaki, a young and promising politician, then minister of finance and who later became Kenya's third president. Though she had been the head of the most powerful women's organisation and regularly wrote opinion pieces in one of the biggest national newspapers, Jael was fairly unknown. And yet, her name made the headlines as she almost defeated Kibaki in an election tarred with irregularities. But her campaign has remained a mere footnote in a historiography that only focuses on winners and pays little attention to the women who vied for, but never rose to, positions of power. Building on Jael's articles and oral testimony, this article explores the genesis of her political commitment to women's social and political empowerment and reconstructs her campaign for the 1969 parliamentary elections. It argues for a shift away from a conceptualisation of politics and political history that solely focuses on (male) winners in favour of a history that makes space for resilient and wilful female leaders.