A Politico article says Kay Hagan is playing hardball.

The story contrasts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's "Southern charm" with her Democratic rival's attacks on Dole's effectiveness and Washington connections.

Speaking at an agribusiness forum, Dole runs through her accomplishments on immigration, tobacco and biofuels, making homespun, folksy jokes along the way.

Then Hagan steps to the mike and blasts away, sounding more like a candidate for the New York City Council than the Carolina native that she is. 

The article notes that Hagan is trying to nationalize the race, connecting Dole to President Bush and using tactics honed by Sen. Charles Schumer, while Dole is trying to keep her distance from national politics.

But the story gives Dole perhaps too much credit for not fighting back.

At a debate before the N.C. Bar Association, Dole lit into Hagan on taxes with a rat-a-tat closing statement and her recent ad compares her to a yappy dog. 

That's a little more steel than magnolia. 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate's chief political Democrat puts the North Carolina race at a mid-tier level on his ranking of winnable seats in November.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called Kay Hagan a good challenger, but the race is close, he told Dome Wednesday.

Schumer put North Carolina on par with other senatorial races he called “even or close” in states such as Oregon, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky and Maine, Barb Barrett reports.

That mirrors the predictions of other political punditry outfits such as the Cook Political Report, which recently shifted North Carolina into the "leans Republican" category and away from solid Republican.

Polls in recent months showed Hagan gaining on incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole, then slipping after Dole launched a major advertising blitz, then holding steady double digits short of the Republican.

More after the jump.

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National Democrats think North Carolina's Senate seat could be in play.

According to a piece in the online political journal Politico today, Democratic strategists "are now taking a serious look at pouring resources" into state Sen. Kay Hagan's bid to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Excited by three recent polls showing Dole less popular than expected, strategists have put the race in the "second tier of potential pickups" including Minnesota, Oregon and Maine. It's an unusual turn of events, the piece notes, since Gov. Mike Easley and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller both passed, as did Hagan initially.

But a list of heavyweight recruiters weighed in, including Democratic former Gov. Jim Hunt, topped by a full-court press from DSCC Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

"We've worked hard to get Hagan; we really thought Dole was vulnerable," said DSCC spokesman Matt Miller. "Hagan has turned out to be a great candidate, all under the D.C. radar."

Still, Hagan has a steep financial challenge, having spent most of the $1.5 million she raised in the primary, while Dole has $3.2 million in her account.

The piece notes that Hagan will try to tar Dole as a D.C. insider who votes with President Bush 92 percent of the time. At the same time, Hagan has critiqued free-trade agreements, favors an end to the Iraq war, and supports expanding federally funded health care for children.

Hat Tip: Mark Binker 

Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Miller has stepped up his exploratory effort in recent days as he nears a self-imposed deadline of July 1 to decide whether to take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008.

Miller, a Raleigh attorney, met over the weekend with members of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers — some of Miller’s key financial backers — at their annual conference in Sunset Beach, Rob Christensen reports. Last week, Miller and his wife, Esther Hall, met with New York Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

"It's a hard decision," Miller said. "I do like this job."

Mark Stephens, Dole’s consultant, said the campaign would not comment on prospective candidates.