Kay Hagan Beats Jim Neal in North Carolina Senate Primary

North Carolina State Senator Kay Hagan comfortably beat openly gay candidate Jim Neal in North Carolina's Senate primary yesterday:

"'You know what I want to do?' Hagan said smiling in front of a crowd of supporters in Greensboro. 'I want to give Miss Liddy Dole a pair of ruby red slippers and let her click her heels three times and go home to Kansas with Bob.' Hagan had 62 percent of the vote with 25 percent of precincts reporting. Chapel Hill entrepreneur Jim Neal was running second with 19 percent."

The Times-News online reports that following Hagan's victory, Neal stepped up to offer support:

"Kay Hagan celebrated her victory in Tuesday's U.S. Senate primary with an invitation. The state senator from Greensboro, who moves from an easy primary win to what promises to be a grueling general election matchup against incumbent GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole, implored supporters of former rival Jim Neal to join her ranks. 'I want to invite them to come on board, and I certainly need their support,' Hagan said. Neal immediately obliged, vowing to do whatever he can to help a candidate he had harshly criticized for months win in November. 'Elizabeth Dole's in for the race of her life,' said Neal, who finished a distant second. 'This could be in the year in which Sen. Dole can be beaten, and Kay has my full support as the nominee to do that.' Hagan has said she needs about $10 million to unseat Dole - about seven times more than she has raised thus far. The $1.5 million she raised for the primary was plenty to push her past four opponents - she grabbed 60 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results."

Pam Spaulding has Neal's post-primary speech.

Previously
Gay NC Senate Candidate Neal and Rival Hagan Tangle in Debate [tr]
Poll Shows Gay Candidate Jim Neal Strong in NC Senate Race [tr]

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Gay NC Senate Candidate Neal and Rival Hagan Tangle in Debate

North Carolina Senate Candidates N.C. State Sen. Kay Hagan, openly gay Chapel Hill businessman Jim Neal, podiatrist Howard Staley and attorney Marcus Williams held a debate on Tuesday. Above, a clip of Neal and Hagan responding to questions on gay rights.

Q Notes has excellent coverage of the event (via Pam's House Blend). They note:

"In the past, the Hagan campaign has refused to answer questions regarding the senator’s gay rights positions when asked by Q-Notes staff. Hagan has also not spoken directly to LGBT media, standing in stark opposition to Neal’s consistent and open discussion with a wide array of LGBT-focused outlets. Hagan also refused to answer direct questions regarding equality issues from Durham, N.C., blogger Pam Spaulding during an April 1 BlueNC.com live blog. Hagan has also stated she believes marriage should be reserved for heterosexual couples, but that the issue should be left up to the states. Staley and Williams, two of three lesser known candidates in the race, employed the use of anti-gay rhetoric in their responses, despite the former’s seemingly positive position on DADT."

There was at least one moment of shock in the debate, as Hagan claimed she is the nominee.

Responded Neal: "You aren't running against Elizabeth Dole. You're not the nominee yet. We're running in a primary. We have primaries, not coronations, in North Carolina."

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Senate candidates discuss gay rights [q notes]
NC: Jim Neal and Kay Hagan spar in only televised debate [pam's house blend]

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Poll Shows Gay Candidate Jim Neal Strong in NC Senate Race

In a Survey USA poll released yesterday, Jim Neal and Kay Hagan are shown to be neck-and-neck (with approx. 20% of the vote each) in a race to oppose Republican Elizabeth Dole for her U.S. Senate seat in November. Three other candidates remain far behind. 45% of those polled, however, remain undecided.

Said Neal in a statement: "This proves that grassroots politics works and people power trumps the power of money. Despite being outspent two to one, our message is getting through. The average contribution to our campaign is $80, and I am honored that thousands of North Carolinians are putting their hard-earned money behind us. I will continue reaching out to people across the state, listening to their concerns, and learning from their ideas so we can have a government that works for all the people."

According to SurveyUSA, "2,100 state of NC adults were interviewed 04/05/08 through 04/07/08. Of them, 1,824 were registered to vote. Of them, 725 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the Democratic Primary."

Pam Spaulding writes that Neal's competitor, Democratic State Senator Kay Hagan, who was recruited by Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, has refused to answer basic questions about LGBT legislation.

AmericaBlog endorsed Neal on Monday and Neal posted a video on their site to introduce himself to their readers. You can view it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Jim Neal for Senate [official site]

Previously
Jim Neal, Challenger to Elizabeth Dole in NC, Says He is Gay

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Jim Neal, Challenger to Elizabeth Dole in NC, Says He is Gay

In an online question and answer session over the weekend, Jim Neal, the Democratic challenger for Elizabeth Dole's Senate seat, acknowledged that he is gay.

In response to a one participant's statement, "I've heard you are gay," Neal answered, "I am indeed. No secret and no big deal to me-- I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise."

When asked the follow-up question, "Do you really think a gay man can be elected in North Carolina?" Neal replied:

"I'm not running this race to lose. I'm not running to make some social statement. I'm running to lead in the Senate for the voters in NC-- something Senator Dole has not done. When people meet me, they'll see beyond the labels and into my character."

That line of questioning led into an inquiry about his position on gay marriage. Said Neal: "It's okay if churches want to unite same-sex couples; it's okay if they don't. That's their Constitutional right which I support 100%. But when it comes to the Government, I'm not in favor of any laws that discriminate against anyone for any reason."

In response to one participant's warning that the right wing would be after him, Neal replied, "I'm a big boy. I can take it and I can dish it."

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