Fact Sheet: Elizabeth Dole Vs. Kay Hagan in the North Carolina Senate Race
Current Voter Registration (as of 11/03/2008)
- 6,265,830
- Democratic: 2,865,662
- Republican: 2,002,601
- Libertarian: 3,607
- Unaffiliated: 1,393,960
2008 Candidates
- Incumbent: Elizabeth Dole (Republican) won her party's primary with 90 percent of the vote.
- Challenger: Kay Hagan (Democrat) won her party's primary with 60 percent of the vote.
- Voter turnout for the North Carolina primary was 37 percent.
- Other items on the North Carolina ballot: U.S. president, U.S. House of Representatives (13 seats), governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and numerous state offices and judgeships.
Fundraising and Spending (Through 10/15/2008)
Elizabeth Dole
- Total Contributions: $15,545,897
- Money Spent: $12,987,605
- Cash on Hand: $2,803,307
Kay Hagan
- Total Contributions: $13,336,788
- Money Spent: $12,129,956
- Cash on Hand: $1,206,828
North Carolina Demographics
- Total Population: 9,061,032
- Female: 51%
- Male: 49%
- White 67%
- Black, or African-American 21%
- Hispanic, or Latino 7%
- American Indian 1%
- Asian 1.8%
- Two or more races 1.3%
*Total may not add up to 100 percent because of Census tracking methods
- Median Age: 36.8 years
2002 Senate Election
- Elizabeth Dole (R) 1,248,664 54%
- Erskine Bowles (D) 1,047,983 45%
Sources: North Carolina State Board of Elections, Federal Election Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey, The Almanac of American Politics
Three Things You Didn't Know about North Carolina Senate Elections
1. North Carolina did not ratify the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote, until 1971. The only state to wait longer was Mississippi, which didn't ratify until 1984. Elizabeth Dole was the first woman elected to represent North Carolina in the Senate.
2. In the 1970s, Kay Hagan served as an intern in the Senate, operating the elevator that carried senators to and from the chamber.
3. As of Nov. 3, 2008, 42 percent of registered voters had taken advantage of North Carolina's One-Stop absentee voting, which allows any North Carolina resident to vote early (between October 16 and November 1) at designated voting sites.
(Sources: North Carolina History Day, The News & Observer, North Carolina State Board of Elections)
Reader Comments
Couldn't agree more
Sen. Dole was not only ranked low in effectiveness, she was inattentive to her constituents. I occasionally write my reps on issues. I received responses from every one BUT, Sen. Dole. I wrote on 3 separate occasions, the last one was to say she lost my vote. I voted for her the first time she ran, but wouldn't the second time.
Good Point
Good points Kirk!
Dole's Effectiveness In Senate
One of the reasons that Liddy Dole was originally elected to the Senate over Boyles was her "experience" in Washington. After a full term in the Senate, imagine our disappointment to find she is ranked 93rd in effectiveness. She has little to show for her service, she's spent hardly any time in NC in the past few years and she has not been the representative the State had hoped for. The last gaff and what I think will seal her fate were the desperation ads she ran against Hagan in the past 10 days. Despite pleas even from those in her own party to pull the ads, she tried to save face defending and reworking them which still paints the same wrong picture of Kay Hagan. When it really mattered, Dole showed questionable character and judgment by not backing off. At the end of the day, Ms. Dole's choices will cost her her seat in the Senate and a decision that will effectively end her public service to the state.
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