Pittenger ran TV ads urging voters to reject the tax that funds the system, the signature accomplishment of McCrory's 12-year tenure as Charlotte's mayor.

Voters overwhelmingly endorsed the tax, and ridership has beaten expectations.

The split underscored differences between the two Charlotte residents, now the Republican nominees for North Carolina's highest offices.

McCrory is running for governor against Democrat Bev Perdue. Pittenger, a state senator, faces Democrat Walter Dalton in the contest for lieutenant governor. It's apparently the first time that one party's nominees have come from the same city.

Though McCrory and Pittenger aren't running as a ticket, they'd be expected to work closely if elected. The lieutenant governor, who serves as president of the state Senate, can be an effective ally for the governor in pushing his agenda through the legislature. And so their candidacies invite comparisons of their records and political philosophies.

McCrory championed light rail despite ballooning costs. Pittenger argued that the money could be better spent on roads. McCrory has backed a variety of tax incentives for businesses. Pittenger generally opposes them.

McCrory believes in using government for purposes such as directing growth through land-use decisions. Pittenger advocates less regulation and smaller government.

"McCrory and Pittenger personify the Republican coalition in North Carolina," says John Hood, president of the conservative John Locke Foundation in Raleigh. "McCrory and Pittenger both are right of center, but they differ on some issues. They are going to agree more than they disagree."

The two downplay their differences.

"We have different styles," McCrory says. "In many ways, we'll complement each other." Pittenger, he adds, is more interested in the "financial side of government" while he's stronger in "management, visionary [and] strategic problem-solving."

"Pat and I agree on 95 percent of all the issues," Pittenger adds. "I don't think you'll find anybody who agrees on everything."

Two sides of same coin

Elected 10 times with support from independents and many Democrats, McCrory is considered a moderate Republican. Conservatives have criticized him for pushing light rail, building an uptown arena and even writing a 2001 letter welcoming a gay pride festival.

Pittenger, a real estate investor, once worked for the Campus Crusade for Christ and raised money for former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North. In Raleigh, he has pushed for lower taxes. Few question his conservative credentials.

"The ... [question] is whether Pittenger is going to lend his street credibility as a conservative to McCrory," says Bill James, a conservative Republican and Mecklenburg County commissioner.

McCrory backed an increase in hotel taxes for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as did Pittenger. He vetoed a proposed car rental tax in 2005 and a property tax increase in 2006, though the Democratic-controlled council overrode both.

As mayor, McCrory can point to a list of accomplishments. In a Democratic-controlled Senate, Pittenger has few.

As a member of Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change, Pittenger emerged as the most outspoken skeptic about global warming, and he warned of government mandates it could foster.

McCrory, who worked for Duke Energy, led an environmental committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors that drafted the resolution on greenhouse gases. However, he refused to sign it because nuclear power was not offered as an alternative to fossil fuels.

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