WSOC Fox Charlotte: Dole, Hagan In Tight Race For Senate Seat

WSOC Fox Charlotte
Ron Magnuson
September 17, 2008

SALISBURY, N.C. — Salisbury native Elizabeth Dole is in a brutal fight to keep her U.S. Senate seat.

The latest polls show Dole in a virtual tie with challenger N.C. Senator Kay Hagan for Dole’s seat in Washington.

Hagan, who was at Thompson Park in Charlotte early Wednesday to accept an endorsement from a veterans group, said the tight race proves one thing.

“I have had to introduce myself to nine million in North Carolina, and that’s what this is showing — that people know me and what I stand for,” she said.

But the candidates’ attacks on each other in TV ads have many people growing tired of the political sparring match. Dole’s campaign ads attack Hagan, who then attacks Dole right back — both sides accusing the other of lies and deceit.

Craig Rice, who lives in Salisbury, said he’s sick of the mudslinging and has this advice for candidates.

“Show me what you can do for the working person and to bring our country back into the economy,” he said.

Both Dole and Hagan claim to have the answer to reviving the slowing economy and the recent banking crisis. Dole was in Senate hearings about exactly that Monday. The senator said she may be in a difficult struggle, but she’s not surprised.

“North Carolina Senate races are always competitive. We need a lot of Democrats and independents to win the race,” she said.

The race is so tight that the Rothenberg Political Report, which rates Senate races across the country, called this one a toss up.

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