(CNN) -- Sen. Kay Hagan should be toast by now. She's a Democrat in Republican-leaning North Carolina, voted for Obamacare and is under fire for skipping a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee to attend a campaign fundraiser -- a no no in a state with a large military presence. Her Republican opponent, Thom Tillis, is also trying to tie her to the Obama administration's uneven Ebola response. Yet Hagan is surprisingly strong going into next month's election, slightly ahead in most polls at a time when other southern Senate Democrats are in serious danger of losing their seats. Her durability is cheering Democrats in an otherwise miserable year and giving the party a playbook for how to make North Carolina competitive during the 2016 presidential election.
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Kay Hagan is slightly ahead in most polls going into next month's elections
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Hagan's strength could provide Democrats a playbook for winning North Carolina in 2016
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Hillary Clinton will campaign with Hagan on Saturday
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