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In the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, Chapel Hill investment advisor Jim Neal and Greensboro state Sen. Kay Hagan have played nice with each other in the press releases, mainly targeting their sharpest comments at Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole.

Looks like that's over.

Neal's campaign put out a news release titled "Where's Kay?" today. That echoes the regular stream of attack pieces that party organs have launched against Dole under the title "Where is Liddy?" ( Here too.)

I'm told by a Neal campaign staffer that was a "happy coincidence," but there you are. (Update: I'm told by the Hagan campaign that she has agreed to do the League of Women Voters forum, just confirming earlier this week.) From the release:

The people of North Carolina will have the opportunity to hear the views of all the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate - all except for State Senator Kay Hagan.

Ms. Hagan has ignored the invitation from the League of Women Voters and Public Radio East to participate in the debate at Craven Community College in New Bern on Friday March 28 at 8 p.m. It will be broadcast on public radio stations statewide. The deadline for participating passed this week with no response from Hagan.

Jim Neal, the Chapel Hill businessman running for U.S. Senate, is calling on State Senator Hagan to participate in a series of six debates across the state in Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad, Asheville, Fayetteville, and New Bern.

"These debates will give voters an opportunity to see who the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate really are and what we believe. It seems Appropriations Chairwoman Hagan thinks this campaign is about calling in favors from high-dollar Capitol insiders to pay for carpet bombing the state with poll-tested political ads, but the people of North Carolina deserve better. They deserve a real discussion of the issues facing our state and our nation," Neal said.

Hagan's failure to appear at the New Bern debate is not Hagan's only rejection of an unscripted exchange before the voters.

Hagan has ignored requests for a debate sponsored by WTVD-TV ABC 11 Eyewitness News Raleigh-Durham.

That will sound kind of similar to folks following the Democrat gubenatorial primary, where Treasurer Richard Moore has accused Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue of ducking debates.

More news from the U.S. Senate Primary:

• * Hagan has a new website. Via Cone.
• * Dome says Hagan has a new Googlely ad.
• * PPP says Hagan is running a classic Washington media-blitz campaign while Neal is tapping grassroots.

Update: So after Neal's first news release goes out, Hagan's campaign says they are signed up for the Public Radio debate. Then comes this from Neal:

State Senator Kay Hagan has made another public about face. Her campaign is now saying she will join the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in a debate on March 28 - after failing to meet the deadline for the forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Public Radio East.

The Hagan campaign's assertion that she will participate in the debate came after the Jim Neal campaign revealed that Sen. Hagan failed to tell Public Radio East she would attend the debate. Her campaign web site does not list the debate at Craven Community College in its "Kay's Upcoming Events" section.

Sen. Hagan has also failed to respond to an invitation from WTVD-TV for a televised debate among the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate.

Today is not the first time Senator Hagan has abruptly changed course.

Hagan, a chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, inexplicably entered the Senate race after publicly announcing she had no interest in challenging Elizabeth Dole for the U.S. Senate. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHaauvJnNLA&feature=related

Jim Neal, the Chapel Hill businessman running for U.S. Senate, is calling on State Senator Hagan to participate in a series of six debates across the state in Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad, Asheville, Fayetteville, and New Bern.

Still no word from Senator Hagan on that.

Update: And about five minutes after that second release from Neal hit my in box, this came from the Hagan campaign:

GREENSBORO, NC- State Senator and U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) this weekend will continue traveling the state talking to voters in North Carolina who believe that Washington is broken and the state deserves new leadership in Washington which puts their needs first.

Kay will speak at the North Carolina Association of Educators annual meeting on Saturday in Fayetteville and then meet and greet voters in Clinton, Sanford and Asheboro later that day. On Sunday, Kay will head to Charlotte to speak to the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Earlier this week Kay’s campaign confirmed her attendance at the League of Women Voters/Public Radio East Debate, scheduled for March 28 in New Bern, and also reached out to members of the African American community to propose a debate specifically addressing issues important to the African American community.

“It’s important to Kay to meet voters one-on-one and talk with them about the issues they feel are most important in this election, but Kay doesn’t feel that interaction should be limited to those people who can get themselves tickets to a debate,” said Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. “That’s why, in addition to debates, she’s out-and-about all over the state in the remaining weeks before the primary, talking to voters about the things in Washington they believe need fixing and how she’ll do that as a U.S. Senator.”

Who was it that said, "Now's the fun part?"