EDITORIAL: News & Record endorses Kay Hagan in Democratic U.S. Senate primary

April 13--Kay Hagan's plane was shot at during one of her three visits to Afghanistan as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Democrat from Greensboro is under fire again as she runs for a second term in the U.S. Senate. More than $8 million worth of TV attack ads already have been aired against Hagan by Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit advocacy group funded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. She can expect more opposition -- and support -- from special-interest groups as the campaign progresses.

Hagan's is a key race in the battle for partisan control of the U.S. Senate. Polls show it will be a close contest, no matter who emerges from a large collection of candidates in the Republican primary. For that reason, it could be the most expensive campaign in the country this year and likely will set a record for spending in North Carolina. Hagan's own campaign reported having $8.3 million in cash on hand at the end of March.

Hagan is vulnerable because of only one issue -- Obamacare. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act was rocky. Worse, many Americans received cancellation notices from companies that provided their medical coverage, despite original assurances by President Barack Obama and Hagan herself that those who liked their policies could keep them.

In an interview last week, the senator said she also was surprised this happened. It wasn't clear at the beginning that insurance companies would cancel policies that did not comply with new coverage mandates, she said. When she found out, she initiated an effort to keep those policies in force. It's not certain, however, whether that fix will occur.

Hagan's explanation, and her support for Obamacare, will never satisfy all the critics. To her credit, she's not backing away from it, despite the endless barrage from opponents and the poor poll numbers for the Affordable Care Act. Instead, she's firing back. All the Republicans running against her, she said, call for repealing Obamacare. If they accomplished that, it would leave millions of newly enrolled Americans without the insurance coverage they signed up for. As before, people could be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. Lifetime coverage limits could leave people who experience a serious illness or accident with massive bills, forcing them into bankruptcy.

Hagan also points to efforts by North Carolina's Republican governor and legislature to hinder Obamacare implementation by refusing to offer state-based exchanges and denying Medicaid expansion.

While defending the ACA's progress toward improving access to medical care for millions of Americans, Hagan acknowledges the need to make improvements and pledges to help do that.

She has been a hardworking, visible senator. She outworked Republican Elizabeth Dole in the 2008 election, capitalizing on Dole's record of being seldom seen in her home state during her six-year term. Hagan, 60, has taken the opposite approach, holding town hall meetings in all 100 counties, visiting scores of schools and community colleges and attending countless community events. She's addressed real issues in constructive ways. Those include:

l Working with Republican Sen. Richard Burr to address problems of contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune.

l Pushing legislation that provides tuition assistance for active-duty military personnel and creating incentives for small businesses to hire veterans.

l Adding a provision to the Violence Against Women Act that offers better training to help medical personnel recognize domestic abuse.

l Promoting a small-business loan fund with the Small Business Jobs Act.

l Crafting a bill -- not enacted yet -- to create a national credential system for workers who complete job-training programs in various technical fields.

l Getting a textile representative added to the Export-Import Bank's advisory council.

l Co-sponsoring the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gives women a better chance to sue employers for workplace discrimination.

l Adding a provision to specifically include North Carolina in the bill extending unemployment benefits that passed the Senate Monday -- restoring a benefit that North Carolina leaders took away from long-term unemployed workers here last year -- if the governor agrees.

l Pushing to add military units at North Carolina bases, or to protect those already here.

Hagan's energy isn't a surprise to those who watched her rise in the ranks of the state Senate during the five terms she represented Guilford County. A lawyer by training, who also counts experience in banking, she's a tireless advocate for constituents and North Carolina businesses. While she's a mainstream Democrat, she's worked often with Burr on issues that benefit North Carolina and transcend partisan differences.

Hagan faces two challengers in the Democratic primary: Ernest T. Reeves of Greenville and Will Stewart of Hampstead. Neither has held elective office or presents a credible threat to deny Hagan the nomination.

Democrats and independents who choose to vote in the Democratic primary should again give Hagan the party's nomination. She will continue to draw fire, much of it from out-of-state sources, but she has a good record to defend during a tough campaign to come.

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