Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-NC) campaign has revealed that the hearing Hagan admitted to missing for a fundraiser earlier this week was a classified hearing on “current and future worldwide threats” to national security that she missed in order to attend a New York City cocktail fundraising reception.
Hagan admitted to reporters after Tuesday’s second debate against her Republican opponent state House Speaker Thom Tillis that she missed a hearing for a fundraiser when postponed votes resulted in the hearing being pushed back to “later that day.”
Hagan’s Campaign told the Associated Press Wednesday that that hearing she missed happened on Feb. 27.
“The Armed Services Committee held a closed hearing that afternoon on ‘current and future worldwide threats’ to national security. Hagan’s campaign scheduled a cocktail reception at a New York apartment that evening,” the AP reported.
The Tillis Campaign — which has been attacking Hagan for missing some half of her Armed Services Committee hearings — slammed Hagan Thursday for putting fundraising before national security.
“Failing to take her most important responsibility seriously, Sen. Kay Hagan represents everything that’s wrong with Washington, and it’s time for her to explain why she prioritizes her own re-election campaign ahead of our national security,” Tillis spokesman Daniel Keylin said.
North Carolina Republican Party Executive Director Todd Poole doubled down, calling for ‘Broadway Kay’ to apologize to North Carolina.
“Senator Kay Hagan has disgraced herself and cheapened the office she holds by putting her own political ambition above the needs of North Carolina families – especially military families. The ‘current and future worldwide threats’ she was to be briefed on presumably included the Islamic State and the threat of Ebola, which now threaten soldiers, sailors and Marines from North Carolina,” Poole said.
While the Tillis campaign has hit Hagan for her numerous absences at committee hearing, Tillis has also been under fire for his own absences from the state legislature to raise money for his Senate campaign.
“While Kay has a clear record of results for North Carolina’s middle class families and military personnel, Speaker Tillis was in DC missing important budget negotiations,” Hagan Campaign spokesman Chris Hayden said Wednesday. “It is Speaker Tillis who acted ‘inappropriately’ by skipping work and his duties as House Speaker to raise funds for his Senate bid.”
Tillis responded to the charges during a Wednesday conference call with reporters.
“If I had missed half of the important things we were doing in North Carolina, that would be something to talk about. Missing a couple of meetings and being present for 95 percent of them is very very different than being absent for over 50 percent of the meetings where our nation’s security was at risk,” Tillis said on the call.
Hagan and Tillis will meet for a third debate Thursday evening, along with Libertarian pizza delivery man Sean Haugh.
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