Already there is talk about the 2014 elections.
Ugh.
I never really cared about politics until about 2006. That’s when I heard a bit of trivia concerning the upcoming 2008 Presidential primaries. For the first time in a long time there would be no sitting President or Vice-President running. It would be a wide open primary on both sides.
Interesting.
Since then I’ve paid more attention and am just now learning that there isn’t a time when someone isn’t thinking about the next election. With that said, North Carolina has a senate seat up for bid this time around.
And the front runner is democrat Kay Hagan:
The Rothenberg Political Report ranks U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan’s seat “leans Democrat” in the first 2014 Senate election ratings. The report – a leading Washington handicapper – says: “Given the GOP’s recent victories in the state, Hagan is almost guaranteed a serious challenge.”
…
The Washington Post’s political prognosticators rank the race No. 4 on their list of most competitive Senate seats. The write-up: “A recent poll from Democratic-leaning automated pollster Public Policy Polling shows Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan’s approval rating is underwater, but she nonetheless leads potential GOP competitors. If Republicans can find the right candidate, Hagan will face a tough road to reelection.”
Ms. Hagan ran in 2008 when Barack Obama’s ticket carried many a democrat to office. However, even without Obama carrying her, I would have voted for her except for one thing: The senate was in danger of, and then did in fact, move into democratic super-majority status. Our sitting senator at the time was Elizabeth Dole, a rather nondescript politician without a large base. Further, she ran an especially nasty ad featuring Hagan that sealed the deal for me – almost.
I like the idea of splitting senators. I like that Hagan spent time in the state government of North Carolina and I thought she was moderate enough. But I just couldn’t vote for her and let the democrats get 60 seats. Of course, as we all know, they did. Alaska elected a democrat after their republican was subject to scandal. And then Minnesota allowed that dipshit Al Franken to cheat his way into office and seal the deal.
Hagan is going to vote for Harry Reid if she wins. And she’ll support most of his legislation. However, she is relatively moderate scoring 56,52 and 76 percent more liberal than her senate peers on issues economic, social and foreign policy.
If we have to have a democrat represent us in Washington we could do worse. And with the recent republican domination in the state, sending a moderate liberal voice to the senate might be a good thing. The only condition that might sway me from supporting her is the balance of the senate. If it gets close to moving past 55-45 like it is now, I am going to pull for a Hagan loss.