Senator Kay R. Hagan

Janet Kay Hagan (née Ruthven; May 26, 1953 – October 28, 2019) was an American lawyer, banking executive, and Democratic politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015. She was the last Democrat, as of 2025, to serve North Carolina in the U.S. Senate and previously served in the North Carolina Senate from 1999 to 2009. Over the course of a single term in Congress, she participated actively in the legislative process and represented the interests of her constituents during a significant period in American political and economic history.

Hagan was born Janet Kay Ruthven in Shelby, North Carolina, the daughter of Jeanette (née Chiles), a homemaker, and Josie Perry “Joe” Ruthven, a tire salesman who later left the tire business for real estate development, focusing on industrial warehouses and warehouse-centered business parks in the Lakeland and Polk County, Florida, area. He subsequently became mayor of Lakeland, Florida. Her maternal uncle was Lawton Chiles, the Lakeland native who served as a U.S. senator from Florida and later as governor of that state, providing Hagan with an early and direct family connection to national politics. Both her father and her brother served in the United States Navy. Hagan spent most of her childhood in Lakeland and graduated from Lakeland Senior High School in 1971. She also spent summers on her grandparents’ farm in Chesterfield, South Carolina, where she helped string tobacco and harvest watermelons, experiences that grounded her in the agricultural life of the rural South.

As a young woman, Hagan was introduced to the workings of the federal government through an internship at the U.S. Capitol in the 1970s, during which she operated an elevator that carried senators, including her uncle Lawton Chiles, to and from the Senate Chamber. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida State University in 1975, where she joined the Chi Omega sorority, later resigning her membership. She went on to receive a Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1978. After law school, she settled in North Carolina, where she pursued a dual career as an attorney and banker, laying the professional and civic foundation for her later entry into elective office.

Before beginning her political career, Hagan worked in the financial industry and rose to become a vice president of North Carolina National Bank (NCNB), then the state’s largest bank and a predecessor of Bank of America. Her work in banking, combined with her legal training, gave her substantial experience in finance, regulation, and business development. She also became active in Democratic politics, serving as a county campaign manager for Governor Jim Hunt’s gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina, which helped establish her reputation within the state party and introduced her to statewide political organizing and policy issues.

Hagan entered elective office in 1998, when she was first elected to the North Carolina General Assembly as a state senator for the 32nd district; after redistricting, her constituency later became the 27th district. During her 10 years in the North Carolina Senate, from 1999 to 2009, she represented Guilford County, including the city of Greensboro, for five terms. Her uncle Lawton Chiles campaigned with her during her initial 1998 race, walking the district on her behalf. In the state legislature, she developed a reputation as a pragmatic lawmaker with particular interest in budgetary and education issues, helping to shape state fiscal policy during a period of economic change and growth in North Carolina.

Hagan’s national prominence began with the 2008 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina. Initially reluctant to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, she was recruited into the race after several prominent Democrats—including Governor Mike Easley, former Governor Jim Hunt, and Congressman Brad Miller—declined to run. On October 26, 2007, political observers reported that she had decided to enter the race, and she formally announced her candidacy on October 30, 2007. In the May 2008 Democratic primary, she defeated investment banker Jim Neal of Chapel Hill, podiatrist Howard Staley of Chatham County, Lexington truck driver Duskin Lassiter, and Lumberton attorney Marcus Williams. Although early polling showed her trailing Dole by as many as 17 points, surveys from September 2008 onward generally placed Hagan slightly ahead. Her campaign benefited from Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s aggressive effort to win North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes and from significant support by outside groups, including 527 organizations and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which spent more money in North Carolina than in any other state that cycle.

The 2008 campaign drew national attention in its final weeks when the Dole campaign aired a television advertisement alleging that the leader of the Godless Americans PAC had held “a secret fundraiser in Kay Hagan’s honor,” juxtaposing statements from group members with the assertion that Hagan “hid from cameras, took Godless money… what did Hagan promise in return?” The ad concluded with a photo of Hagan and a female voice saying, “There is no God.” Hagan, a member of First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro and a former Sunday school teacher, condemned the ad as “fabricated and pathetic” and filed a defamation and libel lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court against Dole. The advertisement was widely criticized in local and national media, including by CNN anchor Campbell Brown, and anger over the “Godless” ad was credited by many observers as contributing to Hagan’s momentum. In the November 4, 2008, general election, she defeated Dole with 53 percent of the vote to Dole’s 44 percent. Her victory returned to the Democrats a Senate seat long held by Republican Jesse Helms, who had first won it in 1972 and was succeeded by Dole in 2003. Following her win, Hagan dropped the lawsuit against Dole.

As a United States senator, Hagan served from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015, during a period marked by the Great Recession, major financial reforms, and significant debates over health care, taxation, and national security. She held assignments on several key committees. On the Committee on Armed Services, she served on the Subcommittees on Airland, Personnel, and Seapower, and chaired the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, where she focused on issues such as cybersecurity, special operations, and unconventional security challenges. On the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, she served on the Subcommittees on Economic Policy; Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection; and Securities, Insurance, and Investment, drawing on her banking background to address financial regulation and consumer issues. She also served on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, chairing the Subcommittee on Children and Families and serving on the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, and she was a member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, reflecting her interest in education, workforce development, and small business growth.

Hagan’s voting record reflected a generally moderate Democratic approach with occasional breaks from party leadership. On February 13, 2009, she voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, supporting the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package in response to the financial crisis. In December 2010, she voted against legislation that extended both the Bush-era tax cuts and unemployment benefits; the bill nonetheless passed the Senate by a vote of 81–19, with opposition coming from both conservatives and progressives. On March 23, 2013, she was one of only four Democratic senators to vote against the Senate’s first approved budget in four years, underscoring her willingness to diverge from her party on fiscal matters. In May 2013, she voted in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which sought to require online retailers to collect state sales taxes in the same manner as brick-and-mortar stores. On April 17, 2013, she voted to expand background checks for gun purchasers, while voting against reinstating the federal ban on so-called “assault weapons” and against banning “large capacity ammunition feeding devices,” positions that reflected an effort to balance gun safety measures with the views of many North Carolina gun owners.

In addition to her committee work and key votes, Hagan sponsored and supported legislation on a range of issues important to her state. On May 20, 2014, she introduced the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2014 (S. 2363; 113th Congress), a bill related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation in the United States, aimed at improving the public’s ability to enjoy the outdoors and addressing conservation and access issues. She was also active on matters affecting military families and veterans, education funding, and job creation, consistent with her committee assignments and the needs of a state with a large military presence and diverse economy.

Hagan sought re-election in 2014 in what was widely regarded as one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. The Washington Post characterized her seat as particularly vulnerable, and The Fiscal Times noted that her 2008 victory had coincided with a high-turnout presidential election, whereas the 2014 midterm environment was less favorable to Democrats. By early 2014, she had been the target of extensive negative advertising by Americans for Prosperity, which had spent more than $7 million on the race by the end of March. In response, the Senate Majority PAC launched a $3 million effort supporting her. Hagan maintained a strong financial position, and by July 2014 she had the largest cash-on-hand advantage of any vulnerable Democratic senator. She received endorsements and campaign support from national figures including Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, who announced plans to campaign for her. During the campaign, Hagan declined to attend ceremonies for President Barack Obama’s January 2014 visit to North Carolina, choosing instead to remain in Washington for Senate votes, a decision that prompted speculation that she was seeking to distance herself from the president, whose popularity in the state had declined since his narrow 2008 victory there.

In the 2014 general election, Hagan faced Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis and Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh. She participated actively in the campaign but declined to take part in a scheduled debate on October 21, 2014. She also addressed the state AFL–CIO convention, underscoring her support for labor and working families. After a closely contested race on November 4, 2014, Hagan lost her bid for a second term by roughly 45,000 votes, or about 1.5 percent, to Tillis. Her defeat ended her service in the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2015, and, as of 2025, no other Democrat has been elected to represent North Carolina in the Senate.

Following her departure from Congress, Hagan remained a figure of interest within Democratic political circles. National party leaders and strategists urged her to consider another Senate campaign, viewing her as the strongest potential challenger to Republican Senator Richard Burr in the 2016 election. In public comments, including an interview in Boston, she stated that she was seriously considering a run. However, on June 24, 2015, she announced via Facebook that she would not be a candidate for the Senate in 2016. In her post-Senate years, she was associated with policy and advocacy work and remained engaged in public affairs, drawing on her experience in state and national office, though she did not return to elected office.

Kay R. Hagan died on October 28, 2019, at the age of 66. Her death followed a lengthy illness stemming from complications of Powassan virus, a rare tick-borne disease she contracted in 2016, which led to encephalitis and long-term health challenges. She was remembered in North Carolina and nationally for her service as a state legislator and U.S. senator, her focus on economic recovery, education, and national security, and her historic 2008 victory over an incumbent woman senator, the first such outcome in U.S. Senate history.