Do you remember what it was?

Maybe you would say that we elected our first Republican governor in the 20th century, which we did in the election of 1972, Jim Holshouser. No, others might argue, it was the election of Jesse Helms in the same year. He was the state's first Republican U.S. senator in that century.

But I am thinking of another year, 1974, when North Carolina elected Susie Sharp to be chief justice of the state's supreme court. It was a milestone in North Carolina political life. No woman in our state had ever been elected to such high office. In fact, no woman in any state had ever been elected by the people to the position of chief justice. Nor had any woman had ever served on the U.S. Supreme Court. It was not until 1981 that President Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor.

Sharp was an exceptional woman and an exceptional lawyer-judge. So most North Carolinians took great pride in their female chief justice. But she was an exception, a rare one.

How things have changed from 1974! Today's chief justice of our supreme court is a woman. But after Sarah Parker was appointed to that position in January 2006 and elected by the people that November, there was more hoopla about her being a rare Democrat winning an appellate court election than there was about her being a woman. Being a woman elected to high office is no longer much of an exception.

Parker is part of a growing sorority of women winning high office in statewide elections in North Carolina. Elaine Marshall broke the barrier in Council of State elections in the 1996 race for secretary of state.

In the elections of 2000, Beverly Perdue became the state's first female lieutenant governor. In the same year, Cherrie Berry won a seat on the Council of State as the first woman to serve as commissioner of labor.

In 2004, Elizabeth Dole became the first woman to win election to one of North Carolina's U.S. Senate seats.

Does it seem like a trend? Maybe it is more like an avalanche that is about to occur.

Next year could bring a clean sweep for women in the election battles for statewide high office next year. Parker does not have to stand for re-election next year. So she is certain to remain in the highest office in the judicial branch.

In the U.S. Senate race, there is a good likelihood that a woman will win. Dole is in a strong position to win re-election, but even if she should falter, the winner could be another woman. The early favorite on the Democratic side is Kay Hagan, a powerful state senator from Greensboro.

While the governor's race is far from over, many say that Perdue is a strong early favorite.

Even in the presidential race, the early favorite for the Democratic nomination and for election in November is another woman, Hillary Clinton. I can hear you saying that Clinton, even if nominated, could not win in North Carolina. But a presidential candidate can win the national election without carrying North Carolina.

So we could wake up 11 months from now with a woman president, a woman U.S. senator, a woman governor and a woman chief justice. If we do, will somebody figure out a way to contact any male who happens to get elected to high office in North Carolina and say, as they said about Sharp, "Oh, you are such a nice exception"?

Then, if somebody could figure out a way to contact Sharp, we would probably want to say to her, "See what you got started."