Hillary Clinton is preparing to ride a wave of support from women into the next stage of her contest with Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination.

Her extraordinary and unexpected comeback in the New Hampshire Democratic primary was driven by women voters in record numbers. They largely shunned her in Iowa last week but came flooding back on Tuesday to make her the first woman to win a presidential primary. Yesterday she claimed to have “liberated” women politicians, after a campaign in which she revealed a previously unseen passion and personal empathy.

More primary voters turned out in the Granite State than ever before, as a clear gender gap opened up with 57 per cent of voters in the Democratic primary being women. Of these, 46 per cent backed Mrs Clinton compared with just 34 per cent for Mr Obama. Among female voters aged 40 or more, she won 70 per cent support.

Mrs Clinton played down claims that her tearful appearance in a Portsmouth coffee shop on Monday had been the catalyst for the turnaround in a contest that Mr Obama had expected to win easily. Instead, aides said that a more personal and open approach had allowed voters to see the “real Hillary Clinton”.

But there is little doubt that she has used her gender to counter Mr Obama’s message of change, pointing out in recent days that electing a woman president would represent a symbolic transformation of US politics. In a TV interview yesterday Mrs Clinton said it was difficult for female politicians to show emotions. “Obviously we know what people will say, but maybe I have liberated us to actually let women be human beings in public life.”

As the campaign heads on to the next battlegrounds of Nevada and South Carolina, the issue of race may loom for the first time. Mr Obama has turned his ethnic and cultural background into a rallying point for healing divisions that have long scarred American society. He may, however, face resistance from Hispanic voters in Nevada on January 19, many of whom – according to one Clinton confidant – remain implacably hostile to African-Americans.

Some commentators suggested that Mr Obama’s New Hampshire defeat, despite opinion polls giving him a huge lead, may have been a consequence of the “Bradley effect”. Tom Bradley, a black Democratic candidate for the California governorship in 1982, was ahead in polls only to suffer a surprise upset. Political scientists suggested that some voters chose a white candidate after saying they would vote for a black one.

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