6 Factors could determine the Democratic nominee for governor

1. GENDER

MAKING HISTORY?

Perdue is trying to become the state's first female governor. As a result, she has a strong edge among Democratic female voters. A Public Policy Polling survey found that Perdue had a 40-22 lead over Moore among Democratic women.

But the socially conservative South has been reluctant to make women chief executives. There have been only three female governors in the South who did not take over for their husbands -- Martha Layne Collins of Kentucky (1984-87), Ann Richards of Texas (1991-95) and Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana (2002-present).

North Carolina has traditionally been skeptical about women in politics. This is, after all, the state where a bill to give women the power to vote was sent to the Committee on Insane Asylums in 1897.

But Republican Elizabeth Dole was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, and she is an early favorite to win re-election next year.

THE FINAL GLASS CEILING?

"The last [male] bastions are the chief executive positions," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. "There has been a higher comfort level with men. There is a sense that women do well as legislators. It's the stereotype of women working well with others. But women chief executives as the final arbiters -- that is the final glass ceiling."

The female candidates who do best in the South, Walsh said, are those who project the old steel magnolia stereotype -- a non-threatening public persona accompanied by inner toughness.

That is Perdue's reputation: a folksy veneer that covers a tough interior.

Perdue knows how to operate in a man's world, climbing the good ol' boy ladder in the legislature and hanging out with the military brass when she headed a commission that protected North Carolina's military bases from being closed.

THE HILLARY FACTOR

One of the ways Tar Heel Democrats have maintained a strong hold on the governor's office is by putting distance between themselves and the national ticket.

When North Carolina voters go to the polls in May, the Democratic presidential nominee will likely already be selected. The current front-runner is New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Some Democratic observers say a Democratic ticket headed by female presidential and gubernatorial candidates would likely prompt a slew of Clinton/Perdue ads by Republicans portraying them as twin sisters.

2. STYLE

HITTING THE BOOKS

Perdue would be the first governor with a doctorate since Gov. Jim Martin (1985-1993). Perdue, who is a gerontologist by training, has a doctorate from the University of Florida.

Moore is a lawyer and has an advanced degree from the London School of Economics.

MARTHA LAYNE COLLINS

VS. ELIOT SPITZER?

There appear to be few major ideological differences between Moore and Perdue. So Democratic voters will likely look at the backgrounds and personalities of the candidates.

Perdue, 60, is sort of the Martha Layne Collins candidate -- a traditional Democratic politician unlikely to rock the boat.

Moore, 47, is the Eliot Spitzer candidate -- the telegenic, articulate Wall Street crusader. Spitzer, a former New York state attorney general, is now New York governor.

INSIDE VS. OUTSIDE

Perdue is the candidate of the Democratic Party base.

She was endorsed Saturday by the N.C. Association of Educators, a politically influential teachers organization. She is backed by many party activists and elected officials, such as Senate leader Marc Basnight. She has a 41 percent to 12 percent lead among African-American voters, according to Public Policy Polling.