Kay Hagan

Kay Hagan

Democratic Party

Prior offices

North Carolina State Senate District 32

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North Carolina State Senate District 27

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U.S. Senate North Carolina

Successor: Thom Tillis

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Compensation

Net worth

(2012) $17,833,270

Education

Bachelor's

Florida State University

Law

Wake Forest University

Personal

Religion

Christian: Presbyterian

Profession

Attorney, Banker

Kay Ruthven Hagan (b. May 26, 1953, in Shelby, NC, died October 28, 2019) was a Democratic member of the United States Senate from North Carolina. She was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and served one term.

Hagan lost her 2014 bid for re-election to Thom Tillis (R).

Hagan was a potential candidate in North Carolina's 2016 senate race. Hagan declined to run in the 2016 elections on June 24, 2015.

Prior to being elected to the Senate, Hagan was a member of the North Carolina State Senate from 1999 to 2009.

Hagan died on October 28, 2019.

Biography

Hagan was born in Shelby, North Carolina. She spent much of her childhood in Lakeland, Florida, where her father was mayor. Her uncle was former Florida Senator and Governor Lawton Chiles. She earned a B.A. from Florida State University in 1975 and a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University in 1978.

Career

Prior to beginning her political career, Hagan worked in the financial industry. During this time she became a vice president of North Carolina's largest bank, NCNB (North Carolina National Bank), which is now a part of Bank of America. Before entering electoral politics on her own, she was a county campaign manager for Governor Jim Hunt's campaign for governor. Hagan served in the North Carolina State Senate from 1999 to 2009 and in the United States Senate from 2009 to 2015.

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Hagan served on the following committees:

• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on SeaPower
  • Subcommittee on Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities Chair
• Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Members
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy
• Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee
  • Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families Chair
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

2011-2012

Hagan served on the following committees:

• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Seapower
• Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families
  • Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Hagan's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.

National security

John Brennan CIA nomination

Hagan voted for the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.

Economy

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Hagan voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.

Hagan said that she planned to donate the pay she made over the course of the shutdown.

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Hagan voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.

Cash for Clunkers

Hagan voted for the “Cash for Clunkers” bill.

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Hagan voted against Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.

Hagan was also one of only five Democrats to vote against the DREAM Act. The bill ultimately failed in the Senate, which the Los Angeles Times said would likely derail "any attempt at sweeping immigration reform in Congress for the foreseeable future."

Social issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Hagan voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Hagan voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by an 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.

Issues

Political positions

Gay marriage

On March 27, 2013, Hagan posted a message on Facebook, giving her position on gay marriage, saying, "Marriage equality is a complex issue with strong feelings on both sides, and I have a great deal of respect for varying opinions on the issue. After much thought and prayer, I have come to my own personal conclusion that we shouldn’t tell people who they can love or who they can marry."

Abortion

Regarding her stance on abortion, Hagan stated, "I am a strong supporter of a woman's right to choose...I would like to see abortions be safe, legal, and rare. These decisions are best made privately by a woman in consultation with her doctor."

Obamacare

In December 2009, Hagan voted for the Affordable Care Act. The Washington Post's Dana Milbank argued that Senator Hagan destabilized her own Senate lead because she had difficulty communicating her support of Obamacare to her own constituents. During a phone call with her constituents, Senator Hagan fumbled the explanation of her support for the ACA by getting caught in abstractions and unclear thoughts.

Guns

Hagan voted to expand background checks for gun purchasers. Hagan received an 'F' rating from the National Rifle Association.

Elections

2016

See also: United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2016

After losing a close race for re-election to the Senate in 2014, Hagan was considered to be a potential Democratic candidate for North Carolina's Class III U.S. Senate seat in 2016. When asked about the possibility, Hagan did not rule it out, stating, "I am not making any decisions right now." She later declined to run.

Polls

In December 2014, Public Policy Polling released their first poll matching up Burr against potential challengers for his U.S. Senate seat in 2016. Hagan was included in the poll, along with North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell and United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.

Potential match-up: Richard Burr vs. Kay Hagan
Poll	Richard Burr (R)	Kay Hagan (D)	Not sure	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Policy Polling December 4-7, 2014	46%	43%	11%	+/-3.4	823
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

2014

See also: United States Senate elections in North Carolina, 2014

Hagan ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, to represent North Carolina. Hagan won the Democratic primary election on May 6, 2014, but lost to Thom Tillis (R) in the general election. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

U.S. Senate, North Carolina General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kay Hagan Incumbent	47.3%	1,377,651
	Republican	Thom Tillis	48.8%	1,423,259
	Libertarian	Sean Haugh	3.7%	109,100
	Write-in	John Rhodes	0%	621
	Write-in	David Waddell	0%	201
	Write-in	Barry Gurney	0%	142
	Write-in	Write-in (miscellaneous)	0.1%	4,307
Total Votes				2,915,281
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

U.S. Senate, North Carolina Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kay Hagan Incumbent	77.2%	372,209
Will Stewart	13.9%	66,903
Ernest Reeves	9%	43,257
Total Votes		482,369
Source: Results via the North Carolina State Board of Elections

Race background

The FiscalTimes compiled a list of the seven most vulnerable Senate seats up for election in 2014. The seven included in the list were: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. Going into the 2014 election, all seven seats were held by Democrats.

According to an April 2013 Politico report, Hagan had already raised $1.6 million and had $2.7 million cash on hand.

Democrat Hagan was "swept into office with the aid of presidential turnout in 2008." However, in 2014, there was no presidential race above her on the ballot and turnout was expected to be down. These factors, along with her middling approval rating and the midterm dynamics, made this race a toss-up.

Distance from Obama

Hagan declined to attend ceremonies for President Barack Obama's January 2014 visit to North Carolina, deciding instead to remain in Washington for Senate votes. Pundits questioned whether Hagan was attempting to distance herself from the President, whose popularity in North Carolina waned significantly after he won the state in his 2008 presidential bid. Hagan lost a difficult re-election challenge in 2014. Polls from early 2014 showed her in a "dead heat" with possible Republican opponents.

Endorsements

Hagan was endorsed by Vice President Joe Biden, who campaigned for her in November 2013. He praised her as being able to work with Republicans, saying "The only way to break through this gridlock is with people who can earn the trust of people on the other team. That's why she's so valuable."

EMILY'S List

Sen. Hagan was a participant in an NYC event with pro-choice advocacy group, EMILY's List. During the 2014 election cycle, the group began holding events focusing on electing more women to office.

General election debate: Hagan vs. Tillis

September 3, 2014, marked the first debate between Hagan and Republican challenger Thom Tillis. Both candidates sought to appear moderate while accusing each other of being too radical. While Hagan accused Tillis of having a bad voting record on women's issues, Tillis argued in favor of making contraceptives more available to women, saying, "I actually agree with the American Medical Association that we should make contraception more widely available. I think over-the-counter oral contraception should be available without a prescription." At the same time, Tillis attempted to associate Hagan with President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In response, Hagan distanced herself from both Democratic leaders, emphasizing that National Journal had ranked her as the most moderate senator and disagreeing with Obama on issues dealing with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Hagan stated, "Action is needed. I believe that we need to work with the moderate Syrian rebels. … I want to see the president’s plans, and I’m ready to take action."

Ethics complaints

Hagan and challenger Thom Tillis (R) filed ethics complaints against each other in the month leading up to the 2014 general election. Tillis accused Hagan of helping her husband's company, JDC Manufacturing, receive $390,000 in tax credits and grants. According to the complaint, Hagan voted for the 2009 stimulus law that provided the money to Chip Hagan's company. The Republican Party of North Carolina filed the complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee, asking that they investigate whether Hagan's actions constituted a conflict of interest. Republican Party Chairman Claude Pope wrote, "The Committee needs to investigate whether Senator Hagan steered taxpayer funds to her husband for her own personal gain in violation of the Senate Ethics rules and the public trust." Hagan denied helping her husband's company receive the grants, and her spokeswoman added that Hagan "made sure that a respected ethics attorney was consulted to ensure that it was appropriate, and the attorney found that it was."

Hagan retaliated by calling for another ethics investigation against Tillis, arguing that Tillis voted for Recovery Act tax credits out of personal self-interest. Tillis owned stock in Aquesta Bank, which benefited from over $1 million in tax credits from the program. Forward North Carolina, a pro-Democratic group, decided to file a complaint with the North Carolina's state ethics commission. Spokesman Ben Ray stated, "Speaker Tillis should come clean about his investments and his votes to benefit Aquesta Bank and his personal bottom line."

Media

• The Senate Majority PAC spent close to $750,000 in December 2013 on an ad supporting Hagan's work to protect Medicare and Social Security.

• As part of a $3 million offensive effort against the billionaire Koch brothers in early 2014, the Senate Majority PAC released "Bracket" on March 26, 2014.
  • The ad was March Madness-themed, and alleged that while Hagan challenger Thom Tillis (R) had been Speaker of the North Carolina House, he backed tax cuts for the wealthy, and would support a plan to “end Medicare as we know it.”

• Americans for Prosperity spent $1.7 million to release an ad attacking Kay Hagan for her position on Obamacare in October 2013.

• Crossroads GPS released a campaign ad in May 2014 accusing Hagan of lying about Obamacare.

• Generation Opportunity released a campaign ad against Hagan in June 2014 geared toward college graduates.

"Count on:" Ad supporting Kay Hagan

Senate Majority PAC's March 2014 ad, "Bracket."

Ad attacking Kay Hagan on Obamacare

Crossroads GPS ad attacking Kay Hagan on Obamacare

Generation Opportunity ad attacking Hagan on spending and Obamacare

2008

On November 4, 2008, Hagan was elected to the United States Senate. She defeated Elizabeth Dole (R), Christopher Cole (Libertarian) and the write-in candidates.

Hagan was helped by Barack Obama's push for North Carolina's electoral votes and by political action groups lobbying on her behalf. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent more in North Carolina than in any other state during the election season.

U.S. Senate, North Carolina General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kay Hagan Incumbent	52.7%	2,249,311
	Republican	Elizabeth Dole	44.2%	1,887,510
	Libertarian	Christopher Cole	3.1%	133,430
	Write-in	Write-in	0%	1,719
Total Votes				4,271,970

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Kay Hagan campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2008	U.S. Senate (North Carolina)	Won	$8,557,412	N/A**
Grand total			$8,557,412	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal Gain Index

See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)

The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:

• Changes in Net Worth
• The Donation Concentration Metric

PGI: Change in net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Hagan's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $-3,848,388 and $51,987,970. That averages to $24,069,791, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2012 of $13,566,333.90. Hagan ranked as the 9th most wealthy senator in 2012. Between 2007 and 2012, Hagan's calculated net worth increased by an average of 1 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.

Kay Hagan Yearly Net Worth
Year	Average Net Worth
2007	$23,444,775
2012	$24,069,791.00
Growth from 2007 to 2012:	3%
Average annual growth:	1%
Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

See also: The Donation Concentration Metric (U.S. Congress Personal Gain Index)

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Hagan received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Lawyers/Law Firms industry.

From 2007-2014, 18.33 percent of Hagan's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.

Kay Hagan Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$25,224,557
Total Spent	$16,495,254
Top five industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$1,202,617
Retired	$1,152,856
Women's Issues	$915,213
Leadership PACs	$733,100
Securities & Investment	$619,028
% total in top industry	4.77%
% total in top two industries	9.34%
% total in top five industries	18.33%

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Hagan was a rank-and-file Democrat as of July 2014. This was the same rating Hagan received in June 2013.

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.

Hagan most often voted with:

• Joe Donnelly
• Susan Collins

Hagan least often voted with:

• Joe Manchin
• Mike Lee (Utah)

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Hagan missed 18 of 1,713 roll call votes from January 2009 to July 2014. This amounts to 1.1 percent, which is better than the median of 2.0 percent among current senators as of July 2014.

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Hagan paid her congressional staff a total of $2,947,537 in 2011. She ranked 12th on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 14th overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, North Carolina ranked 34th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

2013

Hagan ranked 49th in the conservative rankings in 2013. Although Hagan is a member of Democratic Party, her voting record was more moderate, and National Journal ranked her as the 49th most conservative, or 51st most liberal Senator.

2012

Hagan ranked 48th in the liberal rankings in 2012.

2011

Hagan ranked 32nd in the liberal rankings in 2011.

Voting with party

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.

2014

Hagan voted with the Democratic Party 83.2 percent of the time, which ranked 48th among the 53 Senate Democratic members as of July 2014.

2013

Hagan voted with the Democratic Party 80.2 percent of the time, which ranked 49th among the 52 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hagan and her husband Chip had three children.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Kay + Hagan + North Carolina + Senate

Kay Hagan News Feed

See also

• United States Senate
• United States Senate elections in North Carolina, 2014

External links

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • NNDB
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • CongressMerge
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Roll Call
• Financial (federal level):
  • FEC contributions
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Financial (state level):
  • Follow The Money
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Legislation:
  • Congress.gov
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
• Media coverage:
  • Bloomberg
  • New York Times
  • Washington Post

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Elizabeth Dole	United States Senate - North Carolina 2009-2015	Succeeded by Thom Tillis
Preceded by John Garwood	North Carolina State Senate - District 27 2003-2009	Succeeded by Don Vaughan
Preceded by John Blust	North Carolina State Senate - District 32 1999-2003	Succeeded by Linda Garrou

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North Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ted Budd (R)

Thom Tillis (R)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Davis (D)

District 2

Deborah Ross (D)

District 3

Gregory Murphy (R)

District 4

Valerie Foushee (D)

District 5

Virginia Foxx (R)

District 6

Kathy Manning (D)

District 7

David Rouzer (R)

District 8

Dan Bishop (R)

District 9

Richard Hudson (R)

District 10

Patrick McHenry (R)

District 11

Chuck Edwards (R)

District 12

Alma Adams (D)

District 13

Wiley Nickel (D)

District 14

Jeff Jackson (D)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (7)