NC Senate Race In A Dead Heat

Despite all the national headlines, there is going to be more then one election this November, and only one of the many ballots will have McCain and Obama’s names on them. There are a lot of very close and very intriguing races going on this fall, and over the next several weeks I am going to highlight a few of them. Currently the Democrats hold a slight lead in both the House and the Senate, and depending on what happens at the voting booths, that lead could be increased or lost.

The first election I am going to look at is in my state of residence, North Carolina, between Republican Incumbent Elizabeth Dole, and Democratic challenger and State Senator, Kay Hagan. Dole was first elected to the senate back in 2002 when she won 54% of the vote, however some polls (and there are many of them) point to a very closely contested race in this battle ground state. The Insider Advantage poll, whose most recent calculation was published August 19, had the two women dead even, at 40% apiece. Dole’s lead has continued to dwindle, although some polls still have her with as much as a 5 % lead as of last month.

Along with the polls pointing to a tight race, the voter turn out for the primaries indicates trouble for the Incumbent. Dole received 460,665 votes in the Republican primary where 512,071 voters turned out. That number is about half of what Hagan garnered at the Democratic Primary as she got 801,920 votes out of 1,335,052 total votes cast.

In an election year when the GOP has its backs up against the wall because of a President who has fallen out of favor with the American public, a struggling economy, rising fuel costs, and an unpopular war in its fifth year, Dole has her work cut out for her. The Democratic Party is linking Dole to Big Oil as she has received $266,00 in campaign donations from major oil companies and voted to give Oil companies over 13.5 million in tax cuts. She has received poor ratings from environmental agencies and has voted with President Bush on all matters concerning the Iraq War, including last year when she voted against allowing troops to have more rest time between deployments. She has also been criticized for her stance on off-shore drilling as she opposes it in her home state but is in favor of it for the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. Dole is being helped in her bid for re-election by her husband, Bob Dole, who ran several unsuccessful campaigns for the presidency. Bob Dole recently switched from dealing with elections to erections as he is the national spokesmen for Viagra. We’ll see if he has any luck “getting up” his wife’s decreasing poll numbers.

The phrase of “change” is being heard all around America and especially in North Carolina. On Hagan’s website a personal letter from her opens with these words,” There’s a groundswell of optimism here in North Carolina, rooted in the fact that this is finally our chance for change.” Hagan is certainly offering change as she differs from Dole on most of the issues that are being focused on this election. She is opposed to offshore drilling and in favor of increased spending to find alternative fuels. Hagan says she thought the Iraq War was a mistake and she will vote for a responsible withdrawal so we can refocus our energies on Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda. The Dole campaign’s main attack ad against Hagan is based on Hagan’s favorite rhetoric of a politician who works across party lines. The ads question these claims. Hagan, who has spent 10 successful years in Raleigh on the state senate, is ready to give Dole a run for her money.

For more on these two women and their election visit their websites to read more about them and their stances (Dole-http://dole.senate.gov/public/, Hagan-http://www.kayhagan.com/home). Both are well accomplished, well educated, and also determined to win. Keep your eyes glued on this race as the outcome is ultimately up in the air right now and could swing either way.

Eli Lovell