The race between incumbent North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole (R) and State Senator Kay Hagan (D) is now shifting to the tossup category. The state is becoming a key battleground as Republicans try to fight off an opportunity for Democrats to inch ever closer to a filibuster-proof, 60 member majority.
Congressional Quarterly reports:
Democratic strategists know that their goal of scoring the big nine-seat Senate gain they need to achieve a “filibuster-proof” 60-seat majority is a lofty one, and that they would have to oust some of the favored incumbent Republican senators they have targeted — among them North Carolina’s Elizabeth Dole. And while state Sen. Kay Hagan, their nominee, once appeared a distinct underdog to Dole, there are multiple signs that this is emerging as one of the year’s key battleground races.
Because of these shifts, CQ Politics has changed its rating on the race, which was Republican Favored, to its tossup category of No Clear Favorite.
Dole herself raised some eyebrows when she decided to skip the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., early this month, given that she had done star turns as GOP conventions dating back to the 1980s when she served as a Cabinet official in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Dole’s campaign played down speculation that she skipped the convention because of worries about her re-election bid, stating that she had decided it was more important for her to stick to her constituents’ concerns at home.
You can read the results of recent polls conducted for this race here and here. North Carolina joins Mississippi as the only two states rated “No Clear Favorite” by Congressional Quarterly.
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