Hagan admits she missed Armed Services Committee hearing for fundraiser

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) admitted she missed an Armed Services Committee hearing for a campaign fundraiser in a post-debate press conference Wednesday, comments Republicans are arguing could shake up the race.

{mosads}”You know, there was one,” Hagan said when asked by a reporter whether she’d missed any of the committee hearings to raise money. “And what had happened at that hearing, it was scheduled early in the day. And then votes were scheduled, and that hearing then had to be postponed later that day. So yes, I did miss that one.”

The campaign of her opponent, North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R), was quick to highlight the admission.

Hagan continued on to attack Tillis for missing work in the legislature to fundraise, pointing out that the Charlotte Observer’s editorial board called for Tillis to give up his speaker’s gavel last year because he was missing votes.

Tillis has been making Hagan’s missed hearing on the rise of ISIS a major issue and has ramped up criticism of her on a number of foreign policy issues in the past few weeks as he looks to close what’s been a small but sturdy edge in the polls for her campaign.

Hagan’s campaign released a new ad Wednesday morning saying Tillis “should be ashamed for running an ad that says I’d let our soldiers die in vain,” highlighting military members in her family.

— This post was updated at 10:10 a.m.