North Carolina’s 1st female Democratic US senator
RALEIGH, N.C. — Former U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, 66, who stepped away from a banking career to be a stay-at-home mom and then ventured into politics, died Monday after a prolonged illness.
Hagan died at her home in Greensboro of encephalitis, or brain inflammation, caused by a rare virus spread from ticks to humans, said her former Senate spokeswoman, Sadie Weiner. Hagan contracted Powassan virus in late 2016, and the subsequent brain inflammation made speaking and walking difficult for her.
“We already miss her humor and spirit as the hub of our family, a role she loved more than anything. Nobody could light up a room and make people feel welcome like Kay,” her family said in a statement.
Former President Barack Obama remembered Hagan as someone who worked with him to pass the Affordable Care Act and who had a “reasoned, pragmatic voice.”
“She was, quite simply, a terrific public servant — eager to find common ground, willing to rise above the partisan fray and always focused on making progress for the people she served,” he said in a statement.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, said he saw Hagan in person when he visited Durham on Sunday.
“She was a champion for North Carolina and a fierce defender of all its citizens,” Biden said. “She stood for women’s rights and marriage equality, not because it was politically popular, but because it was right.”
She was crucial to passing the 2009 Recovery Act, an economic stimulus package, and the Affordable Care Act, he said.
“Her political courage helped pull our country out of recession and made life better for millions of her fellow Americans,” Biden said.
Hagan defeated North Carolina’s first female Republican U.S. senator, Elizabeth Dole, to become the state’s first female Democratic senator. She served a single term in the Senate and lost her 2014 reelection bid to Republican North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis.
Tillis, who is seeking reelection next year, said in a statement that Hagan had a “dedicated and distinguished record of public service to our state and nation.”
Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all U.S. and North Carolina flags at state buildings, facilities and grounds to be lowered to half-staff through sunset Tuesday.
“Kay was a fierce advocate for North Carolina, and she represented our state with courage and grace her entire career,” Cooper said. “She made it a mission to inspire young people — especially young girls — to enter public service, and she served as a role model to so many. North Carolina is mourning one of our best today.”
Hagan was born in Shelby, North Carolina. She spent most of her childhood in Lakeland, Florida, where she worked on the mayoral campaigns of her father, Joe Ruthven. She also helped campaign for her maternal uncle, former Florida governor and U.S. Sen. Lawton Chiles.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Florida State University in 1975, then earned a law degree from Wake Forest University three years later.
For 10 years, Hagan worked for NationsBank, which was to become Bank of America, where she became a vice president in the estates and trust division.
After being a stay-athome mother, Hagan launched her own political career and won a seat as a Democrat in the North Carolina state Senate in 1998.