At first glance, the North Carolina gubernatorial race appears to be a sure bet for the Democrats: the last time the state elected a Republican governor was in 1988.

But the 2008 race to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Mike Easley looks to be a tight one as Democrat Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and the seven-term Republican Mayor of Charlotte, N.C., Pat McCrory, square off for the seat.

The two were neck-and-neck in a June poll conducted by conservative research firm Tel Opinion. Perdue had 43 percent of the vote and McCrory had 41.

Perdue has been lieutenant governor for the past eight years. She slogged through a heated primary campaign that saw her and State Treasurer Richard Moore pepper each other with campaign attack ads until Perdue announced in April she was ceasing all negative ads. She won the primary by 16 percentage points.

McCrory, the longest-serving mayor of Charlotte, was a late addition to the Republican race, but his moderate stances and strong bipartisan support during his time as mayor have helped him carve out a campaign identity.

Ferrel Guillory, director of the program on public life at the University of North Carolina, said the close match-up is not surprising given that both candidates have a solid base of support.

The division of Republican and Democratic voters for state-level offices is often relatively close, Guillory said. In recent elections, Democrats have won the governor's office even while North Carolina's voters have backed the Republican candidate for president.

Candidates like McCrory, without state-level experience, have had trouble in past elections. In 2000, former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot lost to Democratic Attorney General Mike Easley.

But McCrory is taking advantage of this year's political focus on change. With the state's Democratic Party reeling from corruption scandals over the past few years, he hopes to use the Democrats' long reign to his advantage.

"We have been governed for the past decade by the good ol' boy politics of Gov. Easley and Lt. Gov. Perdue," McCrory told the Charlotte Observer. "I want to change the culture."

Perdue is campaigning on her state-level experience and making education a high priority, including a plan to provide two free years of community college for all students who earn good grades and perform community service.

"While schools and economic-development issues are the bedrock issues of the campaign, another level is this political level of what kind of Democrat is Perdue and what kind of Republican is McCrory?" Guillory said.

Since Sen. Barack Obama might ramp up efforts to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the Tar Heel State since 1976, many are wondering how he could impact elections across the state. A higher turnout of black and young voters could help Democrats, but a flood of Obama ads and appearances could also increase turnout among white, conservative voters who may lean toward GOP Sen. John McCain and other Republican candidates.

-- By Talea Miller, Online NewsHour