It's easy to like U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and many North Carolinians surely found it difficult to vote against her Tuesday as she sought re-election.
But vote against her -- and for state Sen. Kay Hagan -- they did. In an upset that many North Carolinians would not have considered possible six months ago, Hagan swept Dole from office.
The postmortem on the race will focus on three points: Dole was a strong supporter of unpopular President Bush. She had focused many of her energies on national and Republican Party concerns. Finally, she had undermined her own image as the perfect Southern lady when she sponsored an ad questioning Hagan's Christianity.
On that last point, it is ironic that Hagan will now occupy the seat long held by the late-Sen. Jesse Helms, whose campaigns pioneered the very kind of hard-hitting negative ad that eventually undermined his successor, Dole.
Hagan will take office in January and enjoy the political lift one gets for defeating a star from the opposing party. Nonetheless, she'll still be a freshman senator and will quickly learn that she doesn't pull the strings quite as effectively in Washington as she did in Raleigh.
We expect Hagan to be a very good senator, however. She's smart, incredibly energetic and effective. She'll learn how to get things done in Washington.
North Carolina will benefit from having two senators tuned back toward home. Republican Sen. Richard Burr, despite his now long career in both the U.S. House and Senate, has never been afflicted with Potomac Fever. With senators from the two major parties, North Carolina will now have representation in both caucuses.
In the recent history of North Carolina senators, Hagan can find important lessons. Since 1972, no U.S. senator from this state -- except Helms -- has served more than one full term. And Helms' special appeal to voters here will never be replicated.
To be a successful senator and to win a second term in six years, Hagan must build and maintain a strong identity in this state. Despite her victory, she is still an unknown to most North Carolinians. So, she had better be active in issues important to people here, and she had better come home often so she can be seen and heard.
She must also develop a strong constituent-services operation. Time and again, our senators have been lax in responding to appeals for help from our citizens. That could never be said of Helms, whose office was superb in that regard.
So, good luck to Kay Hagan, and let's hope to see her back home, and involved in North Carolina, frequently.
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