On the face of it, the race to be North Carolina's next governor looks familiar. The Republican candidate hails from Charlotte and has served as that city's mayor. The Democrat, with ties to Eastern North Carolina, holds a top elective job in Raleigh.

Sounds like 2000, but it's not. The Republican mayor from Charlotte is Pat McCrory, not (former) mayor Richard Vinroot. And Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue is the Democratic nominee, not then-attorney general Mike Easley, who won that 2000 governor's race.

McCrory and Perdue gained their parties' nominations Tuesday in primary elections notable for high turnout. Now they -- along with Libertarian Mike Munger of Durham, if he makes it onto the ballot -- must focus on Nov. 4 and the general election, marshalling their strengths and addressing weaknesses.

For McCrory, the challenge is to convince citizens across a vast and diverse state that he knows them and their issues, mountains to the sea, education to transportation.

Lacking state government experience, he needs to show he can lead more than a city council, and govern more than a city, even one the size of Charlotte. His strong suit could be his relatively moderate policy views (immigration policy is an exception) and his emphasis on "cleaning up the mess" here in Raleigh, where state-government scandals, most involving Democrats, have battered a clean-government image.

Perdue, for better and worse, has been part of the Democratic hierarchy for years. As lieutenant governor, and previously in the legislature (she represented New Bern and vicinity in the House and Senate), she supported the policies of former Governor Hunt and, for the past seven years, Governor Easley. In her role as presiding officer of the Senate, she broke a tie and cast the deciding vote, in 2005, to establish the state lottery. She's also been part of a system, rightfully in bad odor, of rewarding campaign contributors with appointments.

Perdue has survived with her integrity intact, although she's had to defend herself from time to time. And on a host of policy questions she takes positive stands, pushing better education, health care (including mental health services) and a cleaner environment. Like McCrory, she promises more openness in government, and, crucially, reform of the state Department of Transportation. Her task is to persuade voters that an insider can oversee the reconstruction of what McCrory labels a broken system.

It should be a competitive race. North Carolina has gone Republican in presidential election years in recent decades, and if that's again the case Perdue will have to count on ticket splitting, especially in the east.

But that's long been a winning formula, evidenced by the Democrats' current 16-year hold on the governorship. And former Charlotte mayors have flopped in statewide elections. Still, McCrory's no-runoff-required win over Fred Smith and three other GOP hopefuls Tuesday showed firm support within his party, and his geniality and relative moderation may attract unaffiliated voters.

Perdue can count on the support of a strong party structure (even if her primary rival, state Treasurer Richard Moore, has so far held back). She's a formidable campaigner and fundraiser. And her election would break ground ripe for breaking: North Carolina has yet to have a female governor.

The stage is set. Voters are due a positive campaign, one in which the debates outnumber the attack ads.