In the race to become North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor, it’s the outsiders versus the insider, or insiders, depending on your perspective.

Among the Democrats, three candidates — Hampton Dellinger, Dan Besse and Pat Smathers — are trying to line up as political outsiders, portraying Walter Dalton as the insider.

Dalton is a six-term state senator from Rutherford County; he’s one of the Senate’s chief budget writers; he certainly has the inside track when it comes to support from heavy hitters in the party and well-heeled donors.

But Dellinger isn’t without political connections, in Raleigh and elsewhere. He’s a lawyer in the most prestigious and politically-connected law firm in the state, Womble Carlyle. He worked for Mike Easley, as legal counsel during his first term as governor and as an assistant attorney general during Easley’s time as attorney general.

Dellinger’s father was U.S. solicitor general during the Clinton administration.

Still, Dellinger — in his positions and in his statements — is painting himself as the fresh face. He’s trying to put Dalton squarely in the camp of government-as-usual.

Dalton is trying to turn some of that talk to his advantage. “Would you get on an airplane with a co-pilot who has never flown?” Dalton asked during a recent debate, emphasizing his experience.

Besse and Smathers can probably better claim the mantle as outsiders. Besse is a Winston-Salem city councilman and has a long track record supporting the little guy and pushing environmental causes. Smathers is mayor of the mountain town of Canton and is emphasizing his small-town upbringing and values.

Then again, all four of these guys have been active in Democratic Party politics. All four have law degrees. So, maybe the Republican in this race, Robert Pittenger, will be the candidate who is able to stake himself out as the true outsider.

Pittenger, a Charlotte real-estate investor, seems to have cleared the Republican field of serious challengers and might waltz to his party’s nomination.

But he’s not exactly lacking when it comes to political connections either. He’s a three-term state senator. And like some of the Democrats, he has spent many days over the past five years walking the halls of state government buildings.

Still, he began railing against the Democratic leadership in the legislature from the moment he stepped in the building. For a couple years, he flailed away trying to force medical-malpractice reform on the Democrats.

Of course, all this outsider talk raises some pertinent questions: Do voters really want fresh faces and fresh starts in politics, or do they prefer experience and business as usual? Are they really fed up with establishment politics and the corruption that inevitably seems to creep into it, or do they see it as a necessary evil?

Voters across the country are grappling with the same issues in the presidential primaries. We’ll soon see whether it plays a significant role in the race for lieutenant governor.