Kay Hagan
U.S. Senate, NC
A right-wing, anti-choice Bush opponent. With state Sen. Kay Hagan as the nominee, Democrats are on track to unseat one of Bush’s most loyal followers in the Senate, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina. Since winning Jesse Helms’s old Senate seat in 2002, Dole has voted with the Bush administration 92 percent of the time -- on tax cuts for the rich, massive giveaways to pharmaceutical and oil companies, and the never-ending war in Iraq. Steadfastly anti-choice, Dole opposes funding embryonic stem cell research and was the only woman senator of either party to vote against a nonbinding resolution affirming Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Multiple polls have shown Hagan within striking distance of Dole, whose Senate record is so lackluster she was ranked 93rd out of 100 senators for effectiveness.
A challenger with momentum. Hagan is a proven leader whose strength has helped make this race one of the most competitive of 2008. A former co-chair of the powerful state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Hagan fought to expand health care coverage to cover more North Carolina children (while Dole stuck with Bush in opposing the expansion of SCHIP, the state Children’s Health Insurance Program). She’s helped make sure National Guard troops and veterans get the benefits they deserve, and pushed for expanded DNA testing to help rape victims identify their assailants.
A Republican in peril. Dole’s concern about this race led her to launch early television ads, which pointedly avoid mentioning her ties to President Bush or even her party affiliation! Republicans are concerned: even the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee called this one of the 10 most competitive Senate races in the country, a view shared across the board by pundits, journalists, and the voters in North Carolina. Dole will try to drown out Hagan’s message with her massive war chest, but strong support from EMILY’s List members will help Hagan raise the $10 million she needs to get her message out and defeat this ineffective, right-wing senator.
More About Kay Hagan
Momentum is building for state Sen. Kay Hagan in her bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, fueling Republican concerns about Dole’s ability to hold her seat in November. Recent polling shows Hagan drawing even with Dole, who has spent millions trying to re-introduce herself to voters and divert their attention from her abysmal record of having voted 92 percent of the time with President George W. Bush. Hagan’s aggressive, spirited campaign has led pundits to list this among the top 10 competitive Senate races of 2008. Even National Republican Senatorial Committee head John Ensign has acknowledged that Dole, once thought safe, is in trouble against Hagan.
Since winning the late Jesse Helms’s Senate seat in 2002, Dole has staked out territory far outside the mainstream, firmly establishing her right-wing bona fides on the war, tax cuts, gay rights, and abortion. She has played a key role in stonewalling progressive legislation, voting against pay equity for women, against veterans’ benefits, against increasing the minimum wage, against lowering drug prices for seniors, against funding for embryonic stem cell research -- Dole even voted six times against re-instating “pay-as-you-go” rules to restore fiscal responsibility to the federal budget. She’s repeatedly voted to give massive tax breaks to the oil and gas industry, which has been a major funder of her campaign, and steadfastly supports Bush’s Iraq war policy.
Hagan is a dynamic legislator with a gift for cutting through red tape. She fought to expand health insurance to cover more North Carolina children (while Dole voted against expanding SCHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program). She wrote legislation to increase pensions for Guard members. When Hagan read in the paper that some Guard members were not being reimbursed for expenses incurred during their service in Iraq, Hagan quickly made some calls and, within days, the soldiers started receiving their pay. When she learned about a backlog of untested rape kits sitting in police evidence rooms, Hagan secured funding for DNA testing so that law enforcement could start identifying rapists and putting them behind bars.
Public service is in Hagan’s blood; as a child, she campaigned for her uncle, Lawton Chiles, a former governor and U.S. senator from Florida. Licensed to practice law, Hagan was a vice president at North Carolina’s largest bank, helping people plan for their families’ long-term wellbeing, before taking time away from the work force to raise her three children. She was Guilford County manager for former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt’s 1992 and 1996 campaigns and, in 1998, was recruited to challenge a Republican state senator. Hagan outraised the incumbent and defeated him 51 to 49 percent. She is, according to Gov. Easley, “one of the smartest, hardest working, most effective senators we have in Raleigh.”
The Political Situation
Dole’s lackluster Senate tenure belies her power résumé (which includes cabinet posts in the Reagan and Bush I administrations). She ranks 93rd in the Senate in the Knowlegis “Power Ranking,” which measures lawmakers’ skills, effectiveness, and ability to get things done. Her turn as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2006 was an abysmal failure: Democrats gained six seats and took control.
Dole is adamantly anti-choice and was the only woman senator of either party to vote against a nonbinding resolution affirming Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. She sought to cut off all funds for Planned Parenthood and was an original cosponsor of a bill to criminalize specific abortion procedures, with no exception to protect a woman’s health. As President Ronald Reagan’s domestic political advisor in the 1980s, Dole helped shape Reagan’s hard-right position against abortion and urged him to appease anti-abortion extremists.
Dole has voted for $17 billion in tax subsidies for oil and gas companies -- and against making substantive investments in alternative energy. She’s been rewarded with thousands of dollars in campaign cash. In June alone, Dole accepted $14,000 from energy interests -- benefiting from the industry’s record profits while Americans are paying record sums at the pump. Dole is burning through her money trying to fend off Hagan’s challenge -- spending millions trying to convince North Carolina voters that she hasn’t been a Bush loyalist for the last six years. She pointedly avoided joining President Bush on a visit to North Carolina and even skipped the Republican National Convention.
Democrats have made tremendous gains in North Carolina in recent years, winning the last four gubernatorial contests and control of both chambers of the state legislature. Hagan has been a part of this renaissance, and her energetic campaign has put Dole on the defensive. North Carolina is a presidential priority, and there is a targeted governor’s race on the ballot featuring EMILY’s List candidate Bev Perdue. While Hagan won’t be able to match Dole’s huge war chest, she has posted impressive fundraising numbers: more than $3 million as of the end of June, with just over $1.2 million in the bank. Dole has raised more than $11 million, but she’s spending it at a steady clip. If Hagan can raise $10 million, she can unseat this Bush loyalist, become the first Democratic woman senator from North Caro - lina, and strengthen the Democratic majority in the Senate.
The Issues
Hagan is dedicated to ending the war in Iraq and restoring fiscal responsibility and accountability in the federal budget. As co-chair of the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, she consistently turned out balanced budgets while investing in quality schools, job training, and middle-class tax cuts in North Carolina.
A key ally for educators and public schools, Hagan spearheaded efforts to raise teacher salaries and offer performance bonus pay, reduce class sizes, and expand early childhood education. In the U.S. Senate, she will push for incentives to encourage people to become teachers. Hagan supports reworking the No Child Left Behind Act to provide more funding and give schools flexibility to address individual students’ needs. “I have firsthand experience with unfunded federal mandates,” she says. “I do not want to force the financial burden on states or threaten to pull funding from schools that need the most help.”
Hagan supports free trade as long as it is fair trade. “I will oppose any trade deals that do not contain strong, enforceable labor and environmental standards,” she says. “Any trade deal I consider must first and foremost help North Carolinians and protect North Carolina jobs.”
In North Carolina, Hagan says, “I have supported economic programs that create and keep good jobs in my state, and will work in the U.S. Senate to promote legislation that provides incentives for companies to keep jobs here instead of sending them overseas. I strongly believe we need to balance the budget and impose fiscal constraints such as pay-as-you-go rules.”
Tax cuts should be geared toward middle-class families, not the extremely wealthy, Hagan believes. “I will close loopholes that allow big, multi-national corporations to avoid paying their fair share, and create an economic environment in which small businesses and entrepreneurs can grow and thrive,” she says.
Hagan supports a responsible withdrawal from Iraq. Staying “does not make sense from a national security perspective or from an economic perspective” she says. “The decision to invade without a plan, without sufficient troop levels, and without proper equipment to keep them safe was mismanagement of the highest order.” Refocusing on defeating Al Qaeda and rebuilding our reputation globally should be paramount, she believes.
The nation’s top defense spending priority must be maintaining a strong military, investing in intelligence operations, and ensuring homeland security. Hagan, whose husband is a Vietnam veteran, will push for more funding for health care and mental health resources for veterans. Making sure the federal government has the resources to respond to natural disasters is also critical, she says. “We need to update emergency response plans, ensure that our infrastructure can handle storms and evacuations, and provide training and equipment for first responders.”
Hagan has been a key player on criminal justice issues in North Carolina, working on legislation to fund a forensic crime lab in her district, to combat identity theft and elder abuse, and to ensure student safety on college campuses. She supported bills limiting the distribution of pseudoephedrine, an over-thecounter medication used to make methamphetamine, and to toughen penalties for meth distribution. “I will also push to expand funding for the COPS program and to curtail gang activity,” she says.
One of Hagan’s top priorities will be making sure every family has affordable health care. “I pushed to increase coverage for children when President Bush vetoed SCHIP,” she says.
“I will pursue policies that help lift up low-income workers and sustain the middle class,” Hagan says, including reducing fuel costs and promoting alternative and renewable energy sources that can also create jobs. Hagan’s environmental priorities include strengthening clean air and water regulations, water conservation, and responsible forestry policy.
Hagan co-sponsored legislation to require small businesses to add contraception coverage to health care plans. “I am a strong supporter of a woman’s right to choose,” she says. “I would like to see abortions be safe, legal, and rare. These decisions are best made privately by a woman in consultation with her doctor.”
September 2008