Now that a would-be first female president is ending her quest for the White House, the race is more about women than ever before.

With Hillary Clinton’s ending her campaign for the Democratic nomination, the two likely nominees are moving to claim her followers, especially her signature bloc — the millions of women who cast primary votes for her.

Barack Obama’s campaign is positioning itself as the rightful heir to these loyally Democratic voters. John McCain’s strategists are seeking to convert them, particularly older women who are skeptical of Obama’s thin resume.

Many Clinton voters say she will remain their leader, that she has created a lasting female constituency, a women’s electoral movement. So with Clinton ready to endorse Obama today, the vanquished candidate faces her first post-campaign test. Can she pivot millions of supporters in the direction of Obama, the candidate she just stopped denigrating?

“I don’t know any Hillary or feminist supporter who isn’t going to support Obama,” said Gloria Steinem, adding that a few may write in Clinton’s name on the November ballot. The question, Steinem said, is the degree of support these followers will offer Obama, whether they will merely pull levers for him or apply some of the vast energy and generosity they did for Clinton.

Not everyone agrees. Cynthia Ubaldo, 44, a Clinton supporter in Columbus, Ohio, just switched her registration from Democratic to Independent and donated $10 to McCain.

Grieving her candidacy

Many of Clinton’s female supporters like elected officials and factory workers have settled on a metaphor to describe letting go of her candidacy. They say they are grieving. They admit shedding tears. And they refer to stages like “denial,” “anger” and “acceptance.”

In keeping with this close bond, many supporters say they are less likely to transfer this heartfelt allegiance to Obama than to follow their heroine’s cues.

The 350,000 e-mail messages that Clinton received after soliciting supporters’ on Tuesday include “an overwhelming chorus of ‘We want you to continue to be our leader,’ “ said Ann Lewis, a Clinton adviser.

“Hillary is going to be helpful to him, and I’m going to help her be helpful to him,” said Beth Dozoretz, a longtime donor.

Many Clinton supporters say they will not be able to make their peace with the Obama nomination until they know Clinton’s role on the ticket, in the campaign and in the party. Because he is unlikely to select a running mate right away, the question will remain unsettled for awhile.

Some Clinton supporters have other priorities. “I don’t see the vice presidency as a very exciting thing,” said Nancy White, 69, of Bloomington, Ind., who would prefer that Clinton to return to the Senate to assist Obama on health care and other issues.

McCain has recently beckoned to frustrated Clinton supporters in his speeches. A campaign tour reaching out to them, as well as independent female voters, is imminent, aides said.

The Obama campaign will fight back, after waiting a respectful beat or two.

In conversations with Obama and his aides, “I’ve tried to make sure that everyone understood that these women have a right to feel frustrated and angry,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, an important ally who is one of his leading emissaries to female voters. “To try to make that less than real is huge mistake.”