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RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue stepped away from a bruising re-election battle Thursday, roiling North Carolina’s political waters and sparking a scramble among Democrats to replace their party’s statewide standard-bearer.

With little more than two weeks before candidates can begin filing for office, the state’s first female governor said a run for a second term would get in the way of the work she wanted to finish this year.

“It is clear to me that my race for re-election will only further politicize the fight to adequately fund our schools,” Perdue said in a written statement. “A re-election campaign in this already divisive environment will make it more difficult to find any bipartisan solutions.”

Perdue did not talk to reporters Thursday. She will be the first North Carolina governor not to run for and win a second term since the state constitution was amended to make that possible in 1977.

Close associates said Perdue made her decision based in large measure on her desire to focus on education policy and avoid a rancorous campaign. Third-party ads likely would lambaste not only her work in office but her family as well. Work that her son, Garrett Perdue, did for companies seeking incentives from the state would be a prime target.

Public polls showed Perdue trailing the most likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, by double-digit margins. One Democratic-leaning firm said she had not had a positive voter-approval rating since March 2009.

Many said Perdue’s chance of winning would have been slim — given North Carolina’s unemployment rate sticking stubbornly close to 10 percent, a series of campaign finance problems that have led to the conviction of a former top fundraiser and a series of minor verbal gaffs dogging her.

“Perdue had flat-lined,” said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based campaign consultant. “It truly would have been an uphill fight.”

But campaign aides point to internal polling that showed Perdue within “striking distance” of McCrory.

“We have all felt strongly that although we may be behind, we could definitely win this race,” said Marc Farinella, a Florida-based campaign consultant for Perdue.

Rather, aides said, Perdue hopes that by removing herself from the politics of 2012, she can better work with the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

“I hope that is a consequence of this,” said Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican.

He cautioned that most differences between Perdue and the General Assembly are on core philosophical issues. Perdue recently has campaigned to raise the state sales tax to pay for education programs, for example, something Berger said the GOP is unwilling to do.

“In some instances, there are things where we just will not be in a position to make changes,” he said.

Crone said Perdue’s departure gives the party a “fresh start.” But other observers said the loss of an incumbent is no reason for Democrats to celebrate.

“Whoever runs, they’re still going to have to run on Perdue’s record. They’re going to be a creature of the same party,” said Andrew Taylor, an N.C. State political science professor.

Taylor said he doesn’t see the same “doom and gloom” for Democrats as other analysts. Signs of economic recovery and the promise of a strong push by President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign should buoy the eventual nominee, he said.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, a former state senator from Rutherfordton, became the first potential Perdue successor to announce his run Thursday.

The lieutenant governor wields little power and is in a relatively low-profile position in state government. But Perdue used the position as a launching pad for her 2008 campaign, and Dalton already had nearly $600,000 in his campaign account at the beginning of the year and is poised to raise more.

Dalton wasted no time in taking aim at McCrory, whom he linked to Republican leaders in the General Assembly. “They are doing lasting damage to our state,” Dalton said.

Rep. Bill Faison, an Orange County Democrat, also has been positioning himself for a statewide run. He recently loaned his campaign $500,000 and aired a one-minute television spot during a Raleigh public affairs program.

Faison has said since late last year that Perdue would bow out of the race and called her decision “statesmanlike.”

Faison said he would make an announcement “in due course. Today is going to be Governor Perdue’s day.”

Other potential contenders would have to scramble to build an organization and raise the money needed for a statewide campaign.

Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is often pegged as a potential candidate for governor, said he would run to keep his current job. Campaign consultants familiar with Erskine Bowles, a former U.S. Senate candidate and UNC system president, said he is unlikely to jump into the race.

However, other potential contenders include Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx; Winston-Salem Mayor Alan Joines; Congressman Heath Shuler; and former state Treasurer Richard Moore, all of whom have said they were considering a run or have made their interest known through surrogates.

A Democratic group began pushing U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, who announced Thursday he would not run for another term in Congress, as a potential contender. But a spokeswoman for Miller said, “He has given it no thought.”

Perdue’s move will affect other campaigns. With Dalton moving out of his seat, Democrats will scramble to find a nominee for lieutenant governor.

As well, the battle over a proposed constitutional amendment on the primary ballot that would ban gay marriage becomes more competitive. Democrats as a group are more likely than Republicans to vote against the measure. Before today, there were few hotly contested races to draw them to the polls.

Now, Democratic voters likely will be out in force.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com