Bob Brown | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Former Virginia Attorney General Mary Sue Terry returned to her family farm in Patrick County after losing the race for governor in 1993.

The Roanoke Times & World News | File 1985

Attorney general nominee Mary Sue Terry (left) greets supporters as she goes to vote at her home precinct in Patrick County.

The Roanoke Times & World News | File 1985

Mary Sue Terry was the first woman to win a statewide office in Virginia.

United Press International | File 1986

Mary Sue Terry (left) takes the oath of office as attorney general of Virginia. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Terry, are next to her.

Associated Press | File 1989

Virginia Lt. Gov. Doug Wilder (center) holds up the hands of Attorney General Mary Sue Terry and lieutenant governor nominee Don Beyer at the state Democratic convention in Richmond. Terry was the state's first female attorney general and later ran for governor against George Allen.

Bob Brown | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Former Virginia Attorney General Mary Sue Terry relaxes in one of her Patrick County pastures in April 2007 with her favorite cow, 40-P.

This year will be long remembered not only for the election of America's first black president, but also for the involvement of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton as a Democratic primary contender and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Clinton and Palin didn't break entirely new ground -- the first female major-party presidential candidate ran in 1964 and the Democrats nominated a female for vice president in 1984 -- but their prominent roles in the election served to galvanize women around the country.

And that includes a re-emergence of former Virginia attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Mary Sue Terry -- whose election to statewide office put a substantial crack in the proverbial glass ceiling 23 years ago. She is building on momentum from this year's election to assemble a group to recruit, encourage and raise money for female Democrats around the state.

It's called the "Farm Team," and since forming in September its members have begun to sow the seeds for a new crop of female political leaders. The name is exactly what it implies: a pun referring to both Terry's Patrick County homestead and the training system of major league baseball teams.

"Our premise as a 'farm team' is there are women out there who would be wonderful candidates who are not necessarily party regulars -- former school teachers, former principals, leaders in civic associations, of the arts," Terry said. "What we're looking to do is to reach outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party -- if a suitable candidate doesn't emerge there -- to Main Street, so to speak."

Terry said that although she's "energized" by the group's activities, she's not planning another political run herself.

Certainly, women are underrepresented in state and national legislatures. In the 2008 elections, voters sent a record number of women to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. But they'll still make up only 17 percent of each congressional chamber, despite the fact that since 1980, women have consistently outvoted men.

"When the women's movement began in the early '70s, I think most people thought by the year 2008 there would be a lot more women in public office," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Democrats saw gains this year and now hold a majority of the state's 11 seats in the House, plus both seats in the Senate. But once the new legislators are sworn in next year, there won't be a woman among Virginia's congressional delegation.

"Where are the Democratic women nominees?" Sabato asked. "To elect three new congressmen -- all of them white males -- is not exactly a badge of honor."

Certainly, female Democrats have played a role in Virginia politics.

Helen Timmons Henderson and Sarah Fain, Democrats from Buchanan County and Norfolk, respectively, became the first women elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1923, just three years after the Constitution was changed to grant women the right to vote. (The General Assembly didn't actually ratify the amendment for another 32 years.) Others followed.

Terry drew attention in 1985 when she was elected as the state's first female attorney general. After serving two terms, she entered the gubernatorial race in 1993 as the favorite over Republican George Allen, but lost the election in a landslide.

After the loss she returned to the family farm, where she has remained engaged but generally maintained a low political profile. That's where the Farm Team's first formal meeting took place, in September, when 23 women from across the state made the trek to bond and brainstorm.

In something akin to a political slumber party, the women exchanged ideas, helped out with the birth of a calf and slept on couches and air mattresses.

"I would say what they used to say in the Girl Scouts: We came as strangers and left as sisters," said Roanoke City Councilwoman Gwen Mason, who heads one of the Farm Team's regional groups.

The regional groups have been at work.

Karen Schultz, a professor at Shenandoah University who lost a narrow state Senate race to Jill Holtzman Vogel last year, said the upper Shenandoah Valley regional group's meeting drew more than 20 women. In Roanoke, Mason hosted a conference call to organize her regional group and has a working list of about 20 women so far, she said.

The statewide group is reconvening this weekend for an event with Lynda Robb, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Charles Robb. More than 100 women are expected to attend.

The group is looking at the state level -- starting with the 2009 General Assembly races -- while also focusing on school boards and other local positions.

Terry said the women are watching closely for opportunities such as open seats.

"This group is not in the business of tilting at windmills," Terry said.

On its Web site, www.farmteam.org, the Terry-formed group has identified former state Finance Secretary Jody Wagner, who is seeking the party's nomination for lieutenant governor, as its first statewide project. Wagner, who attended the first meeting and is working with the group beyond her candidacy, said she's keeping realistic expectations, especially in this first year.

"I'm not totally sure this group is going to be far enough along to be a significant force in my campaign," Wagner said. "I hope it is ... but I also recognize there also has to be a lot of energy devoted to organizing the group and finding candidates and teaching them how to fundraise and run races."

But there could be plenty of potential once the Farm Team gets up to full speed. With many businesses shifting their marketing toward women, it seems like a logical stretch for campaign financiers to do the same.

"Women do the grocery shopping. Women do the household budget," said Susan Platt, a Farm Team leader who served as former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Joe Biden and also managed Charles Robb's 1994 senatorial race. "Women sometimes let the men think they control the purse strings, but they really don't."

Platt said that when seeking campaign contributions, she used to sometimes appeal to female donors by suggesting, "Forgo that silk blouse."

"Now you say, 'This is about your kids' education. This is about your health care. This is about the roads you drive on and the food you eat,' " Platt said.

The Farm Team women say that if they're successful, women will be better represented and better politics will result.

"We believe that by having thoughtful collaborative women who are good listeners participate in public policymaking, that our system will be enriched," Terry said. "We believe there's an opportunity for real transformation."

Ultimately, Terry said her goal for the group is that it survives and continues to thrive years from now.

But the women of the Farm Team might look north, to New Hampshire -- whose residents "live free or die," according to the state motto -- for even more inspiration.

There, voters elected 13 women to the state's 24-member Senate, resulting in -- for the first time for any state in the country -- a legislature in which women outnumber men.