Kay Hagan Sues Elizabeth Dole Over Campaign Ad -- Dole Talks To NewsChannel 7

North Carolina, a battleground state in the race for president, has a heated Senate race, reaching a boiling point.

Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole is engaged in a fierce battle with Democrat Kay Hagan, to keep her seat.

Dole is being sued over recent campaign ads that accuses Hagan of associating with a godless organization.

Hagan, a former sunday school teacher, is suing Dole for defamation, saying Dole is questioning her belief in god.

We spoke with Dole exclusively in Asheville Friday -- and she stands by the ad.

("So do you think her (Hagan's) lawsuit has merit?") "No...because its the truth...this fits right in with those issues where she's not willing to say...why did she go (to Boston)."

("Do you think Kay Hagan is godless?") "That's not the point of the ad...the point is how does she react to the agenda... It has nothing to do with her faith..."

Hagan responds, "I am totally outraged by this, and I am totally outraged that they faked my voice in this despicable ad."

Dole was in western North Carolina, visiting Asheville and Hendersonville as part of a 30 county campaign swing.

Some recent polls show Dole trailing Hagan by as many as six points. Dole however, disputes those polls.

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Kay Hagan has taken legal action against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole for a television ad linking Hagan to atheist advocates. Hagan filed the lawsuit today. Hagan had given Dole until Noon thursday to stop running the ad, which critized Hagan's attendence at a fundraiser hosted by a member of the Godless Americans commitee. The ad states, “Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras. Took godless money. What did Hagan promise in return?” Then, a voice meant to sound like Hagen's, says, "There is no God." Hagen claims the voice is not hers.

The lawsuit asks for damages for Dole's broadcast, and production, of an "intentionally defamatory advertisement." Hagan called the ad "pathetic". Hagan Communications Director Colleen Flanagan said, "Like her time in the U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Dole has made her choices here, and that's her decision. But it's equally our decision not to allow someone to slander Kay Hagan, impugn her character, her convictions and her faith, without any consequences. Elizabeth Dole would love nothing more than to distract from the issues and her record for the last 5 days of the campaign. In filing this suit, we've made clear that these kind of despicable tactics will not be tolerated, and our campaign is moving forward with the most important task at hand: defeating Elizabeth Dole, and giving North Carolina's families a voice in the U.S. Senate that they've been sorely missing."

The Dole campaign stands behind the ad.

Vote in Amy Wood's poll -- will this help or hurt Dole's campaign? And watch both Dole's Ad, and Hagan's response spot.

In the political section of wspa.com, Tom Crabtree breaks down Dole's ad in a News Channel 7 Voice of the Voter AdWatch. In reacting to Tom Crabtree's AdWatch, Colleen Flanagan with the Hagan Campaign sent this statement: " This ad watch is completely inaccurate and wrong. I am asking for this to be changed immediately. The Godless Americans PAC did not host this fundraiser for Kay. The Godless Americans PAC has never given Kay money. The Godless Americans PAC has never endorsed Kay’s candidacy. This ad is gutter politics at its absolute worst. The Dole Campaign, today acknowleged this: “Dole spokesman Hogan Gidley insists the ad did not imply that Stone is an non-believer, or even that the fundraiser was an atheist event. "There were people there of several different, I'm sure, religious backgrounds," he says. "I'm sure there were some Christians there. But we know there to be some atheists there." '

The September fundraiser cited in the ad was held in honor of Hagan in Boston by Sen. John Kerry and other Democratic supporters. The event was co-hosted by 35 people at the home of Woody Kaplan, who is listed on the advisory board for a group called the Godless Americans Political Action Committee.

Hagan, an elder at First Presbyterian Church at Greensboro, told reporters that she has taught Sunday School there and gone on youth missions.