Kay Hagan
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press Writer
Posted: Today at 10:38 a.m.
Updated: Today at 2:59 p.m.
RALEIGH, N.C. — State Sen. Kay Hagan said Tuesday she will join the race to challenge U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole next year, three weeks after saying she wouldn't run and a week after the only other Democrat in the race said he is gay.
"I've had a change of heart. I'm throwing my hat into the ring and going forward," Hagan said.
Hagan, D-Guilford, said she changed her mind about seeking the Democratic nomination after hearing from both members of her party and those in the GOP who contacted her after she said last month she planned to remain in the state Senate. At the time, Hagan said she could better serve the people of North Carolina by working in Raleigh instead of Washington.
Hagan, 54, is co-chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and said she has no plans to resign from her state Senate seat. She said her work in helping to write the state's $21 billion budget proves she can get things done in a legislative body.
"I'm here on the ground in North Carolina," Hagan said, a reference to the common Democratic refrain that Dole is a Washington insider. "I have a proven track record."
Neal, a Chapel Hill corporate financial adviser, announced his candidacy four days before Hagan said she would not run. Last week, Neal confirmed that he was gay. Hagan said Tuesday his entry into the race wasn't a factor in her decision.
"My decision has nothing to do with any candidate I may face in the primary," said Hagan, a niece of the late Lawton Chiles, a former senator and governor in Florida. "It was my decision. Period."
Democratic leaders have courted a long list of challengers to compete against Dole, who they consider vulnerable because of her ties to President Bush on the unpopular war in Iraq. But several prominent Democrats have either expressed no interest or passed after considering a run, including Gov. Mike Easley, Attorney General Roy Cooper, U.S. Rep. Brad Miller and state Rep. Grier Martin.
Any Democratic challenger will likely need to raise an average $1 million per month to stay competitive financially with Dole, who comes to the campaign with a huge advantage in name recognition after years in national politics. The wife of former presidential candidate and Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, she is a former Cabinet secretary who won election to the Senate after her own brief presidential bid in 2000.
John Ross Hendrix, a graphic artist from Cary who ran for Congress as a Republican last year, said late last week that he will run as a Democrat against Dole.
