The rooster, many agree, is the traditional political establishment--white, male and wealthy, with a reputation for neglecting women's issues. Promising to deliver and pledging to bring change, women candidates are flooding Federal and state ballots this year. And many suggest that this year's election results could permanently alter the pecking order of government goals and programs.

On both sides of the political fence, women candidates have garnered much attention in this year's campaign. In part, their sheer quantity is enough to turn heads. Record numbers of women are running for Federal offices, and the trend continues on the state level. According to Karen L. Uminski, a Democratic candidate for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 73 women are running for the State's lower house this year--twice as many as ran two years ago.

The local numbers may be even more significant, Uminski says. "State representatives are the farm team," she says. "It's where a lot of people cut their teeth."

Today's state legislators, she says, will likely be tomorrow's Congressional and gubernatorial candidates. And the more women elected to state offices today, the more will be represented in higher offices in the future.

"More doors open up to you as you progress," Uminksi says. The result, she predicts, will be a "permanent change in our political structure."

As important as the size of the woman candidate pool, however, are the reasons for its dramatic increase. Many observers say some outside force--or forces--must have prompted a change this significant.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Justice Clarence Thomas' alleged sexual harassment of Anita Hill sent a rallying call to women politicians, says Wendy Kaminer, a visiting scholar at Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library.

Kaminer's recent Atlantic Monthly article, "Crashing the Locker Room," explores this new trend in politics.

"The Thomas-Hill hearings really did activate a lot of women," Kaminer says. "The women who were angered by the proceedings were deeply angered."

And anger often leads to action. The resurgence of popular feminism--much of it sparked by Hill's allegations--may "propel more women to the polls," Kaminer says.

Abortion, too, catalyzes female political involvement. Uminksi, 27, a former aide to Rep. Peter Vellucci, decided to run after Vellucci announced his retirement this spring. Uminski says she wanted to ensure that the abandoned seat remained a strong voice for abortion rights.

"Our legislature is very anti-choice," Uminski says, "so to lose one pro-choice seat was really a little much for us to bear."

Uminski's best-known opponent, Cambridge City Councillor Timothy J. Toomey, says he is pro-choice. But Uminski supporters say they have questions about how deep Toomey's commitment runs, citing his refusal to support a city council order endorsing the most recent Washington march by pro-choice supporters.

Uminski says her experience canvassing this year has taught her that abortion affects voter turnout, as well. Uminski once worked as a campus coordinator for Mass Choice, an abortion-rights advocacy group. Many college women, she says, became more politically active as they grew involved in the abortion debate. "It is symbolic," she explains. "People aren't used to having their rights taken away from them."

In its power as a litmus test, abortion is unusual, Kaminer says. Strong opinions on abortion can induce voters to abandon their party loyalties.