For most of North Carolina's history, there was no chance that a man named Barack or a woman named Beverly would finish atop the heap on election day.

But in casting their ballots for Sen. Barack Obama for president and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue for governor, Tar Heel Democrats wrote a new chapter in the state's history that had been clouded by the era of Jim Crow and a deep skepticism about women's role in politics.

The victory of a black presidential candidate won the headlines. But the most sweeping change may have been the victories of women up and down the ballot -- with, of course, one notable exception: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Not only did Perdue win the Democratic nomination for governor, but state Sen. Kay Hagan won her party's nod as the U.S Senate nominee who will face Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole in November.

"I think it's the year of the woman," said Kim Ingram, 50, a retired Cary schoolteacher, as she worked the polls Tuesday. "I think we are just going to make history all over."

North Carolina Democrats emerged from the primary energized, registering tens of thousands of new voters, raising lots of money and with a national political wind at their backs thanks to an unpopular war and a struggling economy.

But while many Democrats celebrated their victories in hotel ballrooms, restaurants, bars and in a hallowed basketball arena Tuesday night, the party will face stern tests in the next six months when the partisan and ideological lines are more clearly drawn.

North Carolina remains one of the most fought-over pieces of political real estate in the country. Until proven otherwise, North Carolina remains a red state in national politics. The last time the state went Democratic was 1976, when Jimmy Carter, a son of the South, was elected in the post-Watergate backlash.

McCain popular in N.C.

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, will likely be favored over whomever emerges as the Democratic nominee. While the attention was focused on the Democrats, McCain quietly picked up $1 million in the state at fundraisers in Charlotte and Greensboro this week.

"It's hard to tell which of the two [Democratic] presidential candidates would do better in the state," said Andy Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University. "You'd think Obama would. But with the Republican advantages, I question whether he would get within striking distance of McCain."

The Democrats' bruising marathon presidential primary has left the party with deep rifts. Passions were running so high over the weekend that Democratic Gov. Mike Easley was booed at his party's Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner -- a reaction to his endorsement of Clinton.

Exit polls found that only 45 percent of the Tar Heel Clinton voters said they would vote for Obama in the fall -- if true, a problem for the Democrats. The exit polls also suggest that many Clinton voters were bothered by the controversial remarks of Obama's former pastor.

Fred Gopal, 63, a retired Cary businessman, voted for Clinton because "she represents many of my values." He had earlier planned to vote for Obama but changed his mind after he "put his foot in his mouth."

"I'd have to think think about it," Gopal said when asked whether he would back Obama if he is the nominee. "It's not automatic."

During his victory speech at Reynolds Coliseum, Obama sought to allay such concerns.

"Tonight, many of the pundits have suggested that this party is inalterably divided -- that Senator Clinton's supporters will not support me and that my supporters will not support her," Obama said. "Well, I'm here tonight to tell you that I don't believe it."

Unity is likely

Peter Francia, a political science professor at East Carolina University, said past elections suggest that registered Democrats will ultimately unite behind the Democratic nominee, just as Republicans unite behind their nominee.

There is also healing to be done in the Democratic primary for governor, in which Perdue defeated state Treasurer Richard Moore in a roughhouse contest.

The two times in this century when North Carolina voters elected a new Republican governor -- in 1972 and 1984 -- occurred after Democrats were split in a primary.

Jack Hawke, a veteran GOP operative, says this year's Democratic gubernatorial primary was both "divisive and personal," just as it was when Republican Jim Martin was elected in 1984.

"That," said Hawke, "opens up opportunities for Republicans."