Voting for the first time, 19-year-old Erika Bowman was beaming as she walked out of the voting booth at Glen Burnie Park Elementary. Her presidential pick was Sen. Barack Obama, but the months-long election cycle instilled in her a larger sense of promise.
Women candidates played big roles in the presidential race this year, as Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly missed out on the Democratic Party's nomination and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin became the first female to appear on the Republican ticket.
"It does inspire me," said Bowman, a student at Anne Arundel Community College. "I'm very interested in politics, and I hope that maybe one day ... who knows?"
With Obama's win over Sen. John McCain yesterday, Palin's bid for the vice presidency ended similarly to Clinton's run for the White House: just short. But even in defeat, both politicians made unprecedented strides for the nation's highest offices.
Political observers will now watch closely to see if this election cycle proves to be an anomaly or a jumping-off point for women seeking higher office.
"Is it time we regularly see women on the ticket? Absolutely," said Karen O'Connor, director of the Woman and Politics Institute at American University. But she notes that both Clinton and Palin were unique candidates in a unique race. "I think it's going to take a while before we have a large enough candidate base," she said.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate, was a Clinton supporter in the primary. "Hats off to Senator Clinton," she said yesterday. "She did crack that highest glass ceiling with 18 million votes. ... There will be another time when a woman is able to pursue this."
Maryland voters at the polls seemed particularly cognizant of the historical impact Clinton and Palin have made on American politics.
"People talk about this being a post-racial election. I think it's post-gender, too," said Alexandra Gudger, 64, after voting.
While many said they've spent a lifetime wondering how close a woman could come to the Oval Office, other voters seemed to view gender as a footnote.
"Now that it's happened, it's like, how was it ever any other way?" said Melissa Johanson, 39. "Why did it take so long, and why did anyone ever think it'd be that big a deal?"
