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Republican North Carolina incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole's loss means that for the first time in more than three decades, there won't be a Dole or Bush in office. Dole lost her seat to Democrat Kay Hagan. With 13 percent of precincts reporting at 8:45 p.m., Hagan led 57-41 with a lead of 245,000 votes. Most major networks called the race for Hagan before 9 p.m. In fact, Hagan was doing better than Barack Obama in many counties.
The North Carolina race garnered attention when Dole ran an ad saying that Hagan took "godless money." After that ad, Dole received sharp criticism and dropped in the polls. The spot faked Hagan's voice at the end of the ad saying, "There is no God." Hagan's response was direct. Since then, Hagan has filed a defamation lawsuit against Dole and her campaign. Even after the lawsuit, Dole released a second ad linking Hagan to the Godless Americans PAC. This could be proof of the theory that a really negative ad is good for the opponent.