S.C. women are torn between two historic quests playing out in Saturday\u2019s Democratic presidential primary.<\/p>\n
The race between U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who would be her party\u2019s first female nominee, and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who would be his party\u2019s first black nominee, has divided women along generational and racial lines.<\/p>\n
It has split households and forced women to ponder racial and gender allegiances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like that because I\u2019m looking for who would be the best candidate \u201d\u201d period,\u201d\u009d said Natasha Guess of Spartanburg, who has been teetering between Clinton, Obama and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. \u201cI\u2019m thinking about the issues. And it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s a woman, an African-American or whoever.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Guess knows that not everyone feels the same way. \u201cMy sister says the men have had their show. She\u2019d like to see what a woman can do.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
How S.C. women vote Saturday will be a key to who wins. While much has been made of the power of South Carolina\u2019s black vote \u201d\u201d expected to account for about half of the Democratic primary turnout \u201d\u201d women hold even more clout. They are expected to cast about 58 percent of Democratic primary votes.<\/p>\n