Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C.. (H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
Ahead of President Obama’s speech Tuesday before the American Legion, a vulnerable senator in his own party voiced skepticism about the commander in chief’s commitment to veterans.
Sen. Kay Hagan, who is locked in a tight re-election race against Republican Thom Tillis in North Carolina, said in a statement that the Obama administration “has not yet done enough to earn the lasting trust of our veterans and implement real and permanent reforms at the VA.”
The White House announced Friday that Obama will deliver remarks at the American Legion’s 96th annual conference in Charlotte. Obama’s speech comes as the Department of Veterans Affairs tries to fix problems that led to extensive delays in scheduling and medical treatment for veterans.
Hagan is essentially deadlocked for a second term against Tillis, speaker of the North Carolina General Assembly, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released last week shows. The North Carolina race is one of 10 Senate races that will determine which holds power after the 2014 midterm elections.
William Allison, a spokesman for the North Carolina GOP, said this weekend that Hagan “can’t run away from” Obama “fast enough” and charged that the senator’s statement is laced with “fake indignation.”
