Winston-Salem Journal Editorial: Election '08: U.S. Senate

Winston-Salem Journal
October 10, 2008

North Carolina voters will choose between two bright, energetic and capable women when they elect their next U.S. senator. Today the Journal endorses state Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, for the office.

Hagan, 55, is a bundle of brains and energy. A lawyer and former banker, she has been a leader in the state Senate almost since the day she entered 10 years ago. Alongside budget committee co-chairwoman Sen. Linda Garrou, Hagan led the crafting of the budgets that have guided state spending on schools, roads, social services, economic development and much more.

While we are often critical of the General Assembly on particular issues, its overall performance has been strong. It has made the strategic investments in public education, the universities and the environment that propelled this state to prosperity during a difficult decade. Hagan deserves her share of the credit for that.

Her opponents incorrectly chide her as too liberal. During her state Senate tenure, Hagan has been considered pro-business and moderate. The budgets she helped write were all balanced and responsible. She will continue to follow that course in Washington.

Hagan’s election would give our state balanced representation in the Senate: one Democrat in what will likely be a Democratic-controlled chamber, and one Republican, incumbent Richard Burr. North Carolina needs that.

Six years ago, the Journal chose not to endorse U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole because she had not lived in this state for a long time and would not be an effective advocate for us. Our concerns have proved to be accurate.

Dole, 72 and also a lawyer, has been notably absent from North Carolina public life, spending little time in the state since being elected. Contrast that with Hagan’s exceptionally strong record of community involvement going back dozens of years. It is symptomatic of Dole’s detachment from this state that some of this state’s most respected organizations have had such difficulty trying to get Dole to debate Hagan on television.

Dole has done some good. She helped protect textile workers and, in the last 18 months, she’s been outspoken about the president’s failures to address climate change and to effectively conduct the Iraq War. She also helped protect federal health-care programs in this state. Credit, however, for her chief claim to success — protecting the state’s military bases from closure — must be shared with many other leaders.

No one questions Dole’s work ethic. She’s a vibrant woman. But while in Washington, Dole has reserved her best efforts for issues of importance to the national Republican Party and the Bush administration, not North Carolinians.

As the nation’s financial system teeters, we must also question Dole’s leadership on the Senate Banking Committee. She may have co-sponsored legislation to improve federal regulation a few years ago, but she could not win its passage even in a Republican-led Senate.

Kay Hagan has the potential to be an excellent senator for North Carolina. The Journal endorses her enthusiastically.

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