The role that women voters play in determining who holds political power in this province appears to be taking on added significance.

Recent polls show the NDP is experiencing serious slippage in support from women, while the Liberals are gaining ground in that area.

Both the Mustel Group and the Angus Reid polling firms have documented this shift, and it appears linked to both the brutal take-down of a female leader by the NDP and the departure of Gordon Campbell from the Liberal leadership.

Campbell has long been seen as a liability with women voters, but he was able to get their support when it counted most: at election time. With him leaving the scene, the picture gets rosier for the Liberals on this front. His potential successors would all appear to be more appealing to women voters, but none more than Christy Clark.

In fact, if Clark were to become premier it is likely the Liberals would stand a good chance of corralling a huge chunk of the electorate denied them in the past. I suspect Clark appeals to a lot of young and middle-aged women voters who may have harboured suspicions of Campbell.

And, for now anyways, Clark appears to be the candidate of choice for both the voting public and those who consider themselves Liberal supporters. So the table is set for a complete reversal in B.C. politics (as if that should ever come as a surprise).

The NDP has long prided itself as a champion of the interests of women, and it even implemented an affirmative action policy to ensure more female candidates in the last election. But it is now seen as the party that undemocratically turfed a female leader, and it will undoubtedly elect a man to succeed Carole James.

In fact, it will be interesting to see if any women even run for the NDP leadership (no names have surfaced just yet). If none do, it will be a stunning commentary about the party's true commitment to the interests of women.

Meanwhile, the Liberals couldn't be happier about this. The polls show the NDP's loss in support from women is in the double digits, as many have gone over to the Liberals. The significance of this political shift cannot be underestimated. When the Liberals and NDP square off in elections, the question of which party wins power lies in the hands of several thousand voters.

Politicians always talk of the importance of winning the support of the proverbial "soccer mom." In other words, suburban women with a young family are a key demographic in elections. If the choices are Clark versus Mike Farnworth or Adrian Dix, which party do you think holds the advantage?

Now, there is time for the NDP to recover its support from women. The memories of the ugly ouster of James will fade (although you can be sure they will be brought back in some fashion by Liberal ads during an election campaign), and if the Liberals opt for Kevin Falcon, Mike de Jong or George Abbott as leader, the contrast in leadership of the two parties will be less striking.

And Clark still strikes me as someone who can come flying into the job with great energy and great positives, only to see things gradually go sour over time. But in this year of great upheaval in B.C. politics, where seismic shifts are occurring on a number of fronts, keeping track of the female electorate will be fascinating.

If the Liberals were still trailing the NDP by a huge margin in public opinion (as they were with Campbell and James as leaders), the views of women wouldn't matter so much.

But now, with the political scene competitive again (polls show the Liberals are either leading or tied with the NDP), all votes will be critical.

History shows it is very difficult for the NDP to gain power in this province. The party's pool of potential supporters simply isn't as large as that of its chief opponent. All things must go the party's way to ensure victory -- there has to be at least a bit of a vote split on the centre-right of the political spectrum, and the party has to ensure it gets every single one of its supporters out to the polls.

But if the NDP loses even a fraction of its female support, it could cost the party the next election. And as it stands right now, that's exactly what it's facing.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global B.C.