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My column today:

Pat McCrory changes the governor's race into a two-party contest.

Yes, I know there were three Republican candidates off and running before the Charlotte mayor joined the field with plenty of fanfare in Jamestown last week. But I didn't give any of them much of a chance to compete with either Democrat, Richard Moore or Beverly Perdue, in November.

Nothing against Fred Smith, Bill Graham or Bob Orr. They're all accomplished men.

I've never met Smith, a state senator from Clayton, or Graham, a Salisbury attorney. I do know Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice. He's thoughtful and refreshingly honest -- just what you'd hope from a career judge, and anything but a typical politician.

Still, it's an uphill fight for a Republican to win an election for governor in this state. Smith, Graham and Orr don't bring more firepower to the task than did Patrick Ballantine in 2004 or other GOP hopefuls since Jim Martin pulled it off twice in the 1980s.

McCrory, though, comes in at a different level. The Ragsdale High School graduate easily won re-election in November to his seventh term as mayor of the state's largest city -- quite an achievement considering the Democrat-tilt of his electorate.

Don't bother with the argument that North Carolina voters dislike Charlotte leaders. Sure, Richard Vinroot, Harvey Gantt and others have come up short in statewide elections. In different circumstances, they might have done better. But that's ancient history. Today's story is what's happening in uptown Charlotte, a dazzling landscape of culture, arts, professional sports, restaurants, bars, skyscrapers, light rail and urban enthusiasm. You can dispute how much credit the mayor for the past 12-plus years deserves, but he obviously hasn't stood in the way of some impressive progress.

The fact is, McCrory has a track record that stacks up well against those of Moore, the state treasurer, and Perdue, the lieutenant governor. Both Democrats have won statewide elections, which McCrory hasn't, but two factors can negate that advantage.

One is the negative nature of the Democrats' race. Moore and Perdue bash each other daily. Perdue informs voters that Moore is beholden to the Wall Street interests that have supplied him with so much campaign money, while Moore tags Perdue as a Raleigh insider who's gone along with business as usual.

And that's the second factor. After a long stretch of Democratic Party control of state government, North Carolina voters might listen to appeals for change. Despite the highest gas tax in the Southeast, the state keeps falling further behind in meeting transportation needs. Gains in public education are modest, at best. And political scandals point to a culture of corruption in Raleigh. Voters might believe an outsider can do better.

Conservatives can slight McCrory as a moderate, or worse. He's pushed for local tax increases to support Charlotte projects, like mass transportation. That may hurt him in the GOP primary, but if he gets the nomination, his pragmatic approach could attract independent voters. Martin did it, while more conservative Republican candidates couldn't.

McCrory's rivals discount his executive experience, noting that Charlotte has a "weak mayor" government. So do Greensboro and every other North Carolina city. But an effective mayor leads by articulating a vision and persuading others to follow -- just how a governor should operate.

The only other major candidate with executive experience in government is Moore. If Perdue wins the Democratic nomination, the issue will turn strongly in McCrory's favor because lieutenant governor is the ultimate "weak" job with hardly any significant duties at all.

It's very early in the campaign, but the picture has changed profoundly since last week. Before then, the Democratic primary looked like the decisive contest, while the Republicans appeared to be contending for the honor of losing to Moore or Perdue in November.

McCrory, if he wins the Republican primary, will face the Democratic candidate on equal footing or better.

Contact Doug Clark at dgclark@news-record.com or 373-7039.