Hagan, Kay (1953-2019), a Democrat from North Carolina, served in the United States Senate from 2009 to 2015. Prior to her election to the U.S. Senate, Hagan had served in the North Carolina state Senate.
Hagan was born in Shelby, North Carolina, on March 26, 1953. Her maiden name was Kay Ruthven. She earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Florida State University in 1975. In 1977, she married Charles T. Hagan III, a lawyer whom she met at Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1978, she received a law degree from Wake Forest. From 1978 to 1988, Kay Hagan worked at a bank, eventually becoming a vice president.
Hagan was involved in political campaigning from an early age. She helped work on campaigns for her uncle Lawton Chiles, who served as a U.S. senator and as governor of Florida. She also was the Guildford County campaign manager for James B. Hunt, Jr., when he ran successfully for governor of North Carolina in 1992 and 1996. Hagan first won election to the state Senate in 1998. In 2008, she defeated the Republican candidate, incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole, to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. In 2014, state representative Thom Tillis defeated Hagan in her bid for reelection. Hagan died on Oct. 28, 2019.
