ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The resume that propelled consummate Washington insider Elizabeth Dole to the Senate six years ago is reading more like a rap sheet in a year when the political winds are blowing against Republicans.

The former American Red Cross president, one-time White House hopeful and Cabinet member for two GOP presidents suddenly finds herself in an uphill race against a little-known Democrat for a Senate seat that has been in Republican hands for 35 years.

“Dole hasn’t lived amongst us that much,” said Ann Jennings, 80, a supporter of Dole’s Democratic challenger, state Sen. Kay Hagan. “She doesn’t know what’s going on in North Carolina.”

It wasn’t long ago that Dole was considered such a sure thing that state and national Democrats struggled to recruit a challenger. They ended up with Hagan, a state senator who at first declined their offer but who is emerging as a late favorite. Most recent polls have her leading Dole by single digits, a tough position for any incumbent this close to the election.

Money is a problem this year for Dole, a household name in Republican politics who won her seat with 54 percent of the vote. This time, she’s dipping into her personal finances to prop up her campaign amid an onslaught of Democratic ads tying her to President Bush.

Nor are there much in the way of coattails for Dole to ride. Her party’s presidential nominee, John McCain, is struggling to hang on to North Carolina – which hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in more than 30 years.

Dole doesn’t sugarcoat her prospects.

“You’ve got a situation here where the president’s numbers are absolutely, unbelievably poor,” Dole said in a recent interview. “I also think McCain is underperforming right now, and that will change.”

This year, a surge in Democratic registration and excitement surrounding presidential nominee Barack Obama could doom Dole’s chances, said Carter Wrenn, a longtime Republican strategist who for years advised Dole’s predecessor, the late Sen. Jesse Helms. Wrenn added that Dole isn’t helping herself with a campaign he thinks lacks a clear message.

“They don’t really have a clear strategy now as how they get to the finish line. They’re thrashing. They’re looking for it,” Wrenn said. “But the Democrats are running straight toward their goal, and the Republicans appear not quite sure what to do.”

Dole spent plenty of time on the road raising money for Senate candidates during her time at the NRSC, adding to the Democratic-fed perception that she doesn’t spend enough time in North Carolina to call the Tar Heel State home.

Hagan has spent months hammering away with an effective attack line that ends with Dole clicking her heels to return to Kansas, home of her husband, former Senate Majority Leader and GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole. Dole was registered to vote in Kansas until just before running for her Senate seat in 2002.

Both Bob and Elizabeth Dole have responded with a vigorous campaign schedule and a television ad reintroducing herself to voters.