In all, five candidates spent $5.8 million campaigning in 2007, according to year-end campaign finance reports filed within the past week. (A sixth candidate, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, announced his campaign for the Republican nomination in January.)

Generally, the Democrats, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore, paid for consulting, polling and research.

The three Republicans active last year -- state Sen. Fred Smith, Salisbury attorney Bill Graham and former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr -- spent more of their money building name recognition among voters.

Bob Hall, executive director of the campaign finance watchdog Democracy North Carolina, said the spending foretells an expensive campaign once things heat up this year.

"If they're spending this much this early, they're going to break a record," he said.

The biggest spender was Smith, a Clayton businessman who has served in the state Senate since 2002. With little recognition outside his district, he engaged in a statewide campaign of self-promotion.

First, Smith wrote a book, "A Little Extra Effort," outlining his life story. Then he paid a Mount Airy printing company $360,000 to publish it in hardcover and softcover and mail copies to thousands of North Carolinians.

Next, Smith paid Nashville country singer Lee Greenwood $100,000 to write a song about him and perform at campaign events, among other things.

Smith then spent several months on a 100-county tour of the state in his personal motor home. The campaign spent $90,000 on barbecue and spoke to at least 13,000 people at small events, according to his chief of staff, Jonathan Hill.

"We believe that we're having a conversation with the people of North Carolina," Hill said.

Graham, the second-biggest spender, also spent most of his money getting his name out there.

He had some name recognition from his successful 2006 campaign to cap the state's gas tax. For that effort, he spent $2.3 million of his own money on television ads attacking the tax and others on the issue of illegal immigration.

His gubernatorial campaign spent $1.5 million in 2007. Along with $280,000 for campaign consulting to the Raleigh-based firm Fetzer Stephens and $154,000 for TV ad production, Graham also spent money on an army of door-knockers.

Last summer, Graham hired nearly 60 college students to go door-to-door in the major metropolitan areas of the state talking with voters about his campaign and soliciting feedback on issues.

He spent $131,000 on salaries for the students and paid another $62,000 for apartments and college housing in Salisbury, Asheboro, Hendersonville, Asheville, Charlotte and Wilmington.

While Smith and Graham were building name recognition, their Democratic counterparts were spending their money strategizing, polling, digging up dirt on the other candidates and researching policy positions.

State Treasurer Richard Moore spent $1.4 million.

His top expenses were personnel: $208,000 to the Benenson Strategy Group for research and $138,000 to a firm owned by his campaign manager, Jay Reiff. He also spent $93,000 producing TV ads that began to air in January.

Perdue spent $1.2 million in 2007. Her top expenses were similar to Moore's: $136,000 for a fundraising consultant, $129,000 for policy research, $120,000 for media consulting and $82,000 for polling.

Her spokesman, David Kochman, said Perdue had the advantage of an existing network of supporters, allowing her to spend more time -- and money -- developing plans on health care and education.

Hall, the campaign finance watchdog, said he doubted that Perdue and Moore needed to spend as much as they did on strategies and consulting.

The cheapest campaign by far was Orr's. He spent just $225,000 last year. His biggest expenses were rent for his campaign headquarters in Raleigh and routine office charges.