VOTE-REPELLENT: Obama visits North Carolina — without Sen. Kay Hagan. “When President Obama traveled to North Carolina on Wednesday to speak about manufacturing, one notable Democrat was absent: Sen. Kay Hagan, who opted instead to stay in Washington, where the Senate was in session but not voting. There might have been more at play than Hagan’s work schedule. The first-term senator also faces a tough re-election bid this fall in a state that has become less welcoming to Democrats, and where campaign appearances with the president are of diminishing value.”