After eight years with Mike Easley in the Executive Mansion, North Carolina voters will choose a new governor in November. Six major candidates - four Republican and two Democratic - will vie for their parties’ nominations on May 6.

Today, the Journal offers its endorsements in both of these races. Early voting opens Thursday, and anyone who has not yet registered to vote may do so at an early-voting site.

Republicans, North Carolina’s perennial minority party when it comes to statewide races, have a strong field this year. The Journal could happily endorse any three of the contenders. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory has been successful in the Queen City and campaigned well about gang violence and the transportation needs of the state’s urban areas. Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County has a strong record in business and local government, and he would provide the kind of conservative, hands-on leadership the state will need in the post-Easley era.

But one Republican, in our estimation, stands head and shoulders above the others, and among the best candidates of the last several decades. The Journal enthusiastically endorses former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr for his party’s gubernatorial nomination.

Orr is exactly the kind of moderately conservative leader North Carolina needs right now. In the wake of 16 years of activist Democratic leadership, Orr can be trusted to preserve the good done by Easley and his predecessor Jim Hunt. But he can also lead the state as it re-examines the priorities established over these past four terms, looking at what has worked, what hasn’t and what needs to be done next.

We trust Orr to remain a strong voice for public education, improved transportation and environmental stewardship. Orr, a long-time critic of incentives paid to lure new industry to North Carolina, would also bring a new approach to strengthening our state’s economy, probably through lower taxes.

Orr is one of the brightest people we’ve seen run for public office in this state, and his integrity is unquestioned.

On the Democratic side, we are not as enthusiastic. Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue stopped running negative ads, but only after North Carolina was covered with the slime that she and state Treasurer Richard Moore have flung at each other.

Nonetheless, both have long records in state government. In our opinion, Moore would make the better governor.

He has been a good treasurer, helping preserve and grow the state’s investments. He also proved able as a public-safety secretary during the Hunt administration, especially after Hurricane Floyd.

Moore promises to provide a hands-on kind of management that focuses on detail, a necessary change after eight years of Easley’s aloof leadership. The Journal, therefore, recommends Moore to Democratic voters.