When the most recent poll shows an incumbent U.S. senator leading a challenger by 14 points, you’d expect the only talk about a “competitive” race to come from the challenger and her party.
But the head of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has assigned the “C” word (“competitive,” people) to the North Carolina race between GOP incumbent Elizabeth Dole and Democratic challenger Kay Hagan.
Here’s what John Hood had to say about the matchup last fall, before Hagan joined the race and won a decisive primary victory:
I think that for many reasons, including geography and financial connections, Hagan is in the best position among potential Democratic nominees to challenge Dole. But she also has the most to lose by falling short ? someone else would take her Senate seat, probably not just temporarily, and Hagan?s legislative clout and political profile will both grow in tandem in the coming years.
