We’re following two trails today along the Atlantic coast in two key Senate races where the issue of “national vs. local” is becoming increasingly important.
‘TUG OF WAR’ OF A DEBATE: Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Republican challenger Thom Tillis debated Tuesday night, but the focus of the debate was less about Hagan vs. Tillis and more about Obama vs. the GOP, as msnbc.com’s Benjy Sarlin reports. “Democratic Senator Kay Hagan and Republican challenger Thom Tillis engaged in a tug of war in their meeting on Tuesday, with Tillis constantly trying to tie Hagan to President Obama and Hagan refocusing the debate on North Carolina’s Republican-controlled state legislature.” (More: msnbc.com)
A REFERENDUM ON OBAMA?: Hagan was careful during Tuesday’s debate to distance herself from some of the Democrats’ positions that were not particularly popular in the state, such as the Keystone XL pipeline. But when pressed by Tillis to expand more on Obama’s policies she regretted voting for, Hagan responded, “Speaker Tillis wants to make this race about the president. This race is about who is going to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.” (More: Huffington Post)
The question in #NCSEN is still who can better tie opponent to their respective unpopular legislating body. Hagan did it better tonight.









