Hagan’s re-entry will force a choice
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
By Chris Fitzsimon
The state senator and Jim Neal, an investment banker, hope to unseat Elizabeth Dole.
By Mark Binker
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO — Kay Hagan’s re-entry into the U.S. Senate race sets up a showdown between the Democratic Party’s moderate, business-oriented wing and liberal activists, who at least early on seem to favor Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal.
Both candidates have ties to Greensboro.
Hagan, 54, won a Greensboro-based state Senate seat in 1998 by ousting Republican John Blust, the incumbent. She has risen to the influential post of appropriation committee co-chairwoman, helping to craft the state’s $21 billion budget.
She said this month that she would not run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Elizabeth Dole. On Tuesday, Hagan said she changed her mind in part because she was angered by a recent decision in Washington not to expand a popular children’s health insurance program.
Neal, 50, was born in Greensboro and grew up in the city through his early teens. However, he moved out of state after attending UNC-Chapel Hill and returned in 1996.
Fellow Democrats interviewed Tuesday said they expected a primary fight to help whoever emerges as the winner. (more…)
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