If as widely speculated, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) rethinks her decision and does run for the Democratic nomination for US Senate against Sen. Dole, it sets up an interesting quandary for NC Democrats and for Sen. Hagan herself.
Does Sen. Hagan run on her purported record as a pro-business Democrat and try and secure the middle? Or does her party’s left-wing pull her towards the fringes in appealing to the progressive base that would seemingly throw its support behind Jim Neal? Does the Democratic base go towards the person that more aligns with their values or do they ride the horse they think can win. (And in turn reaffirm the conventional wisdom stereotype that a homosexual man can’t win statewide).
If Sen. Hagan runs left and cedes the middle to Dole, Hagan wins the nomination but will put herself in an even more uphill battle against Dole. But if she runs to the middle first, does she alienate her base and make her primary fight that much harder?
It seems exactly like the primary fights Republicans have been having for years (and currently are in Giuliani v. the rest). Run to the middle to win the state or run to the fringe to secure the nomination?
Should be interesting to watch.
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