Kay Hagan (NC)

Kay has been a passionate and tireless leader for the people of North Carolina.  She's been described as "feisty" by The American Prospect and by the Winston Salem Journal, and as "one of the smartest, hardest working, most effective senator we have in Raleigh" by Governor Mike Easley.

Kay first ran for the state Senate because she thought Raleigh could use a voice like hers -- a working mother's voice. During the last decade serving the people of the Tar Heel State, Kay has earned a reputation as a commonsense legislator who knows how to work across the aisle to get things done.  As chair of the budget-writing committee, Kay balanced five straight budgets and invested in the right priorities to make North Carolina one of the best states to do business, as ranked by Forbes.

When Elizabeth Dole voted against expanding the SCHIP program -- in lockstep with George Bush -- Kay stepped up to the plate and led the effort to increase health care coverage through Health Choice for Children. While Dole was the only woman senator of either party to vote against affirming that Roe v Wade should not be overturned, Kay led the fight to increase funding so untested rape kits would be processed, and perpetrators would be prosecuted.

After winning decisively in a five-way primary, Kay is now running against incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole, who has voted with George Bush 92% of the time and 92 of her colleagues are ranked as more effective than her by Congress.org.  Running against a Republican is something Kay knows how to do; when she was first elected in 1998, she defeated a Republican incumbent in a close election that the political establishment believed she could never win. The Cook Political Report, Congressional Quarterly and the Rothenberg Political Report have all recently moved this race into their toss-up categories, showing the competitive nature of this race.

After winning decisively in the primary, Kay is now running against incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole.  Running against a Republican is something Kay knows how to do; when she was first elected in 1998 she defeated a Republican incumbent in a close election that the political establishment believed would be won by her opponent. 

The Cook Political Report recently moved this race into the Toss-Up Category. Senator Dole is a vulnerable Republican and polling has consistently shown her job approval ratings to be below the key 50% threshold for an incumbent and a recent survey found only 44% of North Carolinians view her favorably.

Kay has proven herself to be an impressive fundraiser and tireless campaigner but she needs your help today!

It is Democrats like Kay Hagan who can help increase the democratic majority in the Senate.  We must do everything we can to help elect Kay Hagan. You can help her campaign by contributing now. If you live near Kay and would like to help you can also sign up to volunteer and we will help connect with her campaign. The stakes are too high, the time is short – get involved today.