Kay Hagan
U.S. Senate, NC
In 2008, Democrats have a chance to unseat Republican Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, one of President Bush’s most reliable loyalists in the U.S. Senate, and replace her with a dynamic, creative leader with a background in business, law, and government: state Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro. Polling shows a distinct lack of enthusiasm about Dole in a year in which voters are hungry for change, and political experts have included North Carolina among the top ten competitive Senate races of 2008.
Republicans tapped Dole to run for the Senate when Republican Jesse Helms retired. Since winning Helms’s seat in 2002, she has staked out territory that is far to the right of the moderate mainstream, firmly establishing her right-wing bona fides on everything from the war, to tax cuts, to gay rights and abortion. Since becoming a senator, Dole has voted with the Bush administration 92 percent of the time and 94 percent with the GOP leadership, including against lowering drug prices for seniors, against funding for embryonic stem cell research, and in favor of massive tax breaks for the oil and gas industry. Dole even voted against re-instating “pay-go” rules to restore fiscal responsibility to the federal budget and eliminate deficit spending. She has been a steadfast supporter of Bush’s Iraq war policy.
Hagan is an independent leader 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 supported Gov. Mike Easley’s (D) efforts to ensure members of the North Carolina National Guard had the safety equipment they needed when the federal government failed to do so, and 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 picked up the phone; 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. A lawyer by trade, Hagan worked as a banker for 10 years before taking time away from the work force to parent her three children. She was Guilford County manager for former Democratic Governor Jim Hunt’s 1992 and 1996 campaigns; in 1998, party leaders recruited her to challenge a Republican state senator. Hagan outraised the incumbent and defeated him 51 to 49 percent. According to Easley, Hagan “is one of the smartest, hardest working, most effective senators we have in Raleigh.”
The Political Situation
Dole has been a follower, not a leader, in the Senate. In spite of her power résumé (cabinet posts in the Reagan and Bush I administrations, head of the American Red Cross) and marriage to former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, her brief tenure has been lackluster, at best. She ranks 93rd out of 100 senators in Knowledgis’s “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 a noted failure: under her watch, Democrats gained six seats and took control of the chamber.
Dole has essentially carried on the legacy of Helms, the man she succeeded in the Senate. An original cosponsor of the so-called “partial birth” abortion ban, Dole 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.
Polls show Dole can be beat. In February, a poll by North Carolina’s Elon University showed only 37 percent of voters planned to vote for Dole, and 25 percent plan to vote against her — reflecting a dangerous lack of confidence among an electorate hungry for change. Democrats have made tremendous gains in North Carolina in recent years: Democrats have won the last four gubernatorial contests and control both chambers of the state legislature.
Hagan has raised nearly $1.4 million and has over $1 million in the bank (raising 75 percent of that in-state). As of December 2007, Dole had $2.66 million cash on hand. Hagan must raise $10 million to unseat Dole and become the first Democratic woman senator from North Carolina.
The Issues
While Dole represents the failed policies of the past, Hagan is an independent voice who is serious about undoing the Bush mess, responsibly 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 has consistently turned out balanced budgets and made tough decisions to ensure that North Carolina can continue to invest in quality schools, job training, and middle-class tax cuts.
Hagan has been a key ally for educators and public schools. She 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 law 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.”
To help working families balance responsibilities, Hagan will work in the Senate to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act and strengthen the unemployment insurance system. “We need to make day care more affordable and accessible,” she adds.
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. “I will support trade deals if they create jobs here at home, and if there is a net gain for our economy.”
Hagan used her post on the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to secure funding for economic development projects that create jobs and enhance the quality of life. “I have supported economic programs that create and keep good jobs in my state,” she says. “I will work in the U.S. Senate to promote legislation that provides incentives for companies to keep jobs here instead of sending them overseas.” Hagan will work to restore fiscal responsibility and accountability to the federal budget. “I strongly believe we need to balance the budget and impose fiscal constraints such as pay-as-you-go rules,” she says.
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, and it does not make sense 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.
The nation’s top defense spending priority must be maintaining a strong military, investing in superior intelligence operations, and ensuring homeland security. “I also believe that we need to improve our commitment to our veterans,” says Hagan, whose husband is a Vietnam veteran. “I will push for full funding for health care, as well as major investments in mental health resources.” Ensuring that 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 will fight in the U.S. Senate to strengthen laws to prevent workplace discrimination, protect voting rights, end racial profiling, and enhanced penalties for hate crimes.
Hagan has been a key advocate for strengthening the criminal justice system 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-the-counter 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 legislative priorities will be making sure every family has access to affordable health care. “I pushed to increase coverage for children when President Bush vetoed SCHIP,” she says. Costs can be reduced by allowing electronic filing of medical records, eliminating waste, allowing small businesses to enter purchasing pools, and giving the government authority to negotiate for lower drug costs for Medicare Part D.
“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 believes in a sensible and pragmatic approach to reproductive care. She co-sponsored legislation to require 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.”
May 2008