One of the stated goals of our Road to 60 campaign is to press Republicans to spend more of their resources in states than normal - we want them to play defense.

In North Carolina, incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole has started playing defense. Back in May, in the face of tight poll numbers, Dole dumped lots of money into statewide TV ads months before the election.

And despite her previous role as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, her service in the administrations of Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and her marriage to former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole didn't actual make a single mention of the Republican party or President Bush in the ads, despite the fact that she voted with Bush 85% of the time last year.

North Carolinians aren't happy:

``She's in trouble because of the straight-up fact that she's a Republican,'' Brian Mayberry, a 35-year-old political independent, said June 20 at a Wilmington gas station while pumping $59.73 worth of gasoline into his Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle. While ``the consensus is that she's been a good senator,'' Mayberry said he won't vote for Dole because he blames Republican President George W. Bush for high gas prices.

Democrats have a great challenger: State Senator Kay Hagan.

In the first half of May, Rasmussen, PPP, and SUSA showed Hagan actually up by one, then down by only five and four points, respectively. And despite a bump after her statewide media blitz, Dole finds herself back in a competitive race, with several polls still showing her tracking below the 50% incumbent Mendoza line.

And as Markos points out in The Hill, the tough primary Hagan fought made her campaign stronger and more prepared.

But there's a big financial gap. Reports show a 10-1 cash inequity in favor of Dole, after Hagan spent over a million dollars to win her primary.

So now is the time to step up for Kay. Kay Hagan would be another vote towards allowing the government to negotiate for lower drug prices. She favors a withdrawal from Iraq and changing focus to al Qaeda.

We can make a difference, and we have a real shot at this seat. The state has been trending Democratic, even though Republicans have carried the state for the last seven Presidential elections. But North Carolina is one of the states Obama is targeting. With the help of his registration and turnout machine to bring new Democrats to the polls, Kay Hagan can replace Elizabeth Dole. But she needs our help. Give Kay what you can.