Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.)
U.S. Senator (since January 2009)
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(Melina Mara/TWP)
The freshman senator from North Carolina is a giant killer, having earned notoriety for knocking off Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) in what had been a reliably Red state in 2008. But she did it in a year when presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won North Carolina.
Hagan was born in the city of Shelby, N.C., but raised by her family in Florida, where they became statewide political force. She returned to the Tar Heel State when she enrolled in law school at Wake Forest, where she met her future husband Chip Hagan. After law school, she focused on her career as a lawyer and vice president at a bank that would later become part of Bank of America and on her three children. She entered politics as county campaign manager for Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt in 1992 and 1996. Later, she was persuaded to run for state Senate, where she won a seat in 1998 and served five terms, representing Guilford County, including Greensboro.
- Career History: State Senator, North Carolina (1999 to 2008); County manager, Jim Hunt's 1992 and 1996 r-election campaigns; Vice-president, NationsBank (1978 to 1988)
- Birthday: May 26, 1953
- Hometown: Shelby, N.C.
- Alma Mater: Florida State University, B.A. (American Studies), 1975; Wake Forest University, J.D., 1978
- Spouse: Chip Hagan
- Religion: Presbyterian
- Committees: Armed Services ; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ; Small Business and Entrepreneurship ; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
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