Running her first statewide campaign, Republican Betsy Cochrane constantly attends fund-raisers, festivals and forums.

Often, on her campaign stops, she runs into friends — even family. Her Uncle “Tink” and Aunt Barbara greeted her at the door of a Cabarrus County fund-raiser in Concord in September.

The uncle, a longtime Democrat, promised his niece that he would vote for her, no question. Cochrane knows she’ll need that kind of crossover support to win Nov. 7, a history-making day in North Carolina.

The winner between Cochrane and Democrat Beverly Perdue will be the first woman lieutenant governor and the highest ranking female official in the state’s history.

Even amid presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, the media have given the lieutenant governor’s race adequate attention “simply because we’re both women,” Perdue says. But she also has been encouraged by the attitude of N.C. voters.

“I have never been asked, ‘Are you sure a woman should be doing this,’ ” Perdue says. “People don’t care — they just really want somebody who can get the job done for them.”

The lieutenant governor’s race offers candidates with quite similar political backgrounds. But both stress through their comments and advertising that they differ dramatically in philosophy.

Cochrane and Perdue are state senators with experience in leadership positions. Each brings to the race a history of advocacy for senior citizens and work experience as a public school teacher.

Cochrane, of Davie County, represents the 38th N.C. Senate District, which includes all of Davie County and portions of Rowan, Davidson and Forsyth counties. She has been in the General Assembly for 20 years — six terms as a senator and four terms as a representative.

Cochrane served as minority leader for both the Senate and House.

Perdue, of New Bern, represents the 3rd N.C. Senate District, covering all of Craven and Pamlico counties and a portion of Carteret. She has served in the General Assembly 14 years — two terms in the N.C. House and five terms in the Senate.

Perdue chaired the N.C. Senate Appropriations Committee.

In their respective parties, both Cochrane and Perdue have received the highest effectiveness rankings for women legislators.

Cochrane, 64, describes herself as a small-town Girl Scout with a Baptist upbringing. She attended the all-women Meredith College in Raleigh and followed through on her goal of being a teacher. She taught in private and public schools for 11 years.

Cochrane later became the first woman elected to the N.C. House from her district in 1980 and the first woman elected to the N.C. Senate from her district in 1988.

Over two decades, she has been named legislator of the year by six different advocacy groups, covering interests such as aging, autism, wildlife and home care.

“Iam an average, ordinary person who’s had extraordinary opportunities in her life,” says Cochrane, a grandmother of two.

Cochrane says she has demonstrated her appeal to Democrats in the past. She won her first election as a Republican despite a 3.5-to-1 Democratic registration advantage in her House district. She boasts that voters chose philosophy over party.

Her philosophy promotes limited government, individual rights and fiscal responsibility. She says the state must put a priority on new jobs, low taxes and good infrastructure. She speaks strongly for cutting government red tape and strengthening community colleges, which she contends have been ignored by the General Assembly for too long.

The lieutenant governor, a position held the past eight years by Democrat Dennis Wicker, chairs the Community College Board of Trustees.

Cochrane also touts a voting record that supports small business. The National Federation of Independent Business gives her a 100 percent rating and says she has the second best voting record on business legislation in the Senate.

She notes that Perdue ranked 36th.

Cochrane served as Senate co-chairman of the Study Commission on Aging. She considers herself a champion of in-home, community-based services for the elderly. She wrote and helped pass legislation making domestic elderly abuse a felony and setting up tax credits for long-term health care insurance.

As lieutenant governor, Cochrane says she would push for a reorganization of the Division of Aging and encourage more in-home, community-based services.

On education, Cochrane talks about returning more responsibility to teachers and parents. She believes the lieutenant governor could use her position as a member of the State Board of Education to require that high school seniors have true 12th grade competency in reading, writing and math.

While Perdue says Cochrane’s television ads sling mud and distort the facts, Cochrane defends them as comparison ads that show the differences between the candidates.

“Because we do vote differently,” Cochrane says.

Perdue, 53, agrees that the women are very different philosophically.

“I believe in change and a wise investment in people,” Perdue says.

Perdue contends that Cochrane had to be “led to the dance” to support the Smart Start early childhood initiative and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. She lumps Cochrane in with Republicans who would offer parents vouchers (or partial scholarships) for their children to attend private schools.

Perdue strongly opposes vouchers as an ill-conceived idea that would only hurt public schools. “I believe in the public schools and have worked hard to fix them,” Perdue says.

Perdue pictures herself as a different kind of lieutenant governor, believing a person defines a position no matter what it is. She says she brings a record of service, tough decision-making, leadership and change to the job.

“I’m so aggressive about it all,” she says. “I will be energized and involved. You’re going to see me in Salisbury. I will be part of your community.”

Perdue says the nature of the lieutenant governor’s position offers the opportunity to frame the public debate on education, healthcare and the environment.

“I’m not going to go away on those issues,” she said.

On education, the state must look at the kids it is leaving behind, as identified by the accountability measures North Carolina has put in place, Perdue says. “What are we going to do to fix that learning achievement gap?” she asks.

Perdue also favors character education in schools as a means to make the school environment better for teachers.

A former geriatrics director at Craven Regional Medical Center, Perdue says most of her professional career dealt with aging issues. She has a doctorate in the field. Perdue commends Cochrane’s interest in the elderly but contends that she’s been more progressive.

“It’s what I’ve done for a living,” Perdue adds.

Not unlike Cochrane, Perdue characterizes herself as a tireless leader in expanding home health care opportunities for seniors and improving the quality of nursing homes.

Perdue says she first ran for office in 1986 because of her frustrations with government red tape in connection to seniors.

But Cochrane portrays Perdue as a free-spender who won’t sign on for taxpayer protection.

“I’m not a big government person,” Perdue says. “She’s implying that I am.”

Perdue argues that she has been the person writing the state’s budget — a balanced budget that has paid teachers more, provided crucial health care measures, provided natural disaster relief and met court settlement obligations. Various organizations also have honored Perdue as their person or legislator of the year, including education and older adult interest groups. The National Association of Local Boards of Health named her legislator of the year for her efforts in Hurricane Floyd relief.

Perdue predicts the lieutenant governor’s race — and her campaign in particular — will make history in another way, breaking records for contributions to women.

“The truth is that women can raise money,” Perdue says.