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If North Carolina's newest senator is ever tempted to rise above her raisin', swept away by the privileges and perks of office, the black duffel bag lurking near her desk might bring her back to reality.

Tucked inside is a hood designed to protect Sen. Kay Hagan from a chemical or biological attack on the Capitol.

"I had no idea. I thought it was somebody's package, something of a staff member," Hagan said, bemused by the strangest trapping of her new role as North Carolina's junior senator.

If nothing else, it's a reminder that even the thick stone, marble and brick buildings on The Hill cannot keep out the world's rougher realities.

Hagan, a Democrat, was sworn in Tuesday, taking over from Sen. Elizabeth Dole after defeating the Republican incumbent in November's election. And for the first time, the Senate clerk called for "Mrs. Hagan" as part of a quorum call - an accounting of which senators are present - and she participated in several ceremonial happenings.

Behind the scenes, Hagan interviewed staff and waited for committee assignments. And she collected advice - lots of advice - from colleagues.

When Hagan took the oath of office - her hand firmly placed on a family Bible - she was accompanied on the Senate floor by Richard Burr , now the senior senator from North Carolina, and Maryland's Sen. Barbara Mikulski , the first Democratic woman to be elected to the Senate.

Mikulski, an irascible woman whose small stature belies her seniority and influence, described Hagan as a "very eager learner" whose 10 years of experience in the state legislature will serve her well.

But will Hagan, known in Raleigh as a technician and capable lieutenant of top legislative leaders, be able to poke, prod and tinker with federal legislation in the same way?

"Every senator is a senator," Mikulski said.

That said, Mikulski and just about anyone else who gave Hagan advice last week urged her to be patient.

The Senate is an institution that values tradition and deference to more senior members. Junior senators typically are better regarded by their colleagues if they work more than they talk.

Hagan will be expected to hold off delivering her first floor speech until she's had time to season, usually a few months.

"Kay's not going to be able to walk in here next week and submit her first bill to the floor of the Senate, that's not the way the Senate side works," said Crystal King , Hagan's chief of staff. "But it is a very collaborative body, and I feel that's where her previous background, especially moving her way up in the state Senate, is going to serve her well."

In turn, more senior senators have a responsibility to help Hagan learn the ropes.

"There's actually a tradition in the Senate, especially among the women senators, such a small group of people. ... They all do get together once a month and have dinner together and sort of help one another. ... It seems to be a very supportive network," King said.

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As Vice President Dick Cheney led senators into the House chamber last week to officially count the electoral votes for president, Hagan stood in the middle of the scrum, shaking hands with House members on her way to sit for the joint session of Congress.

Sitting next to her was Sen. Amy Klobuchar , a Minnesota Democrat elected in 2006. Along with Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Klobuchar is someone Hagan singles out as a friend who can show her the ropes.

"First of all, she's got a sense of humor, which is always helpful around this place," Klobuchar said after emerging from the Democratic senators' weekly policy lunch at the Capitol.

Klobuchar said Hagan seems to be someone ready to work on the finer points of legislation rather than throw rhetorical bombs.

"I think there's enough rhetoric," Klobuchar said, "and there's a need for the people who are willing to do that kind of nuts-and-bolts work and willing to really dive in, especially with this economy."

Hagan now finds herself part of a bipartisan tag team with Richard Burr , a Republican up for election next year, making comity across party lines all the more important.

"North Carolina, like every other state, only has two members of the Senate," said Burr, sitting in his office late last week. "The closer she and I can work together, the better we can work on behalf of the state."

Burr and Hagan took the same flight back to North Carolina on Thursday night, and Hagan says Burr has been "very helpful."

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In the North Carolina Senate, Hagan developed a reputation as someone who answered questions cautiously, who gave long thought to issues before speaking out and who flourished behind the scenes rather than out front giving speeches.

Washington pundits trying to divine how she might align herself in Washington have labeled her a "moderate," one among a group of Democrats and Republicans who could turn out to be swing votes on legislation over the next two years. It's a label that Hagan eschews.

"I don't really like labels like that," Hagan said. "I don't like conservative, liberal, moderate. You've got to look at the actual issues. I want to vote the way people in North Carolina would like their senator to vote."

The label could derive partly from her reputation in the state Senate as someone concerned about the interest of businesses, and partly from geography.

"Part of that is stereotyping," said Chris Ellis , an assistant professor at N.C. State . "After all, that's Jesse Helms' old seat and people can't get their hands around the fact that it has gone blue, much less the possibility that it's turned liberal blue."

Truth be told, Ellis said, it remains to be seen what kind of senator Hagan will be. Former Sen. John Edwards , considered a "moderate" when first elected, developed a reputation as a progressive or liberal during his six years in office.

Edwards' evolution, Ellis said, had partly to do with his ambitions for president and partly to do with the need for senators to cleave to their leadership. Bills are often packaged with related legislation and there can be tremendous pressure to maintain party loyalty.

Still, there are signs Hagan might break with her caucus. Like Burr, Hagan opposes a proposal to allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products, something that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signed onto as a co-sponsor last year. Tobacco is a diminishing but key business interest in North Carolina.

Ellis suggested that if Hagan did establish herself as a true moderate, she could make "productive use" of establishing herself as someone who could vote either way on the issues. He pointed to Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter, who "made a career out of being a swing vote," amassing both influence for himself and federal aid for his state.

And Ellis wondered out loud whether Hagan might begin establishing that reputation early in her career, speculating that the new senator may not be a reliable vote for Democrats on a proposed economic stimulus package, especially if sentiment in North Carolina cuts against it.

In fact, the stimulus package was the subject of some of the first meetings Hagan attended as a full-fledged member of the Senate Democratic Caucus. She is non committal on the bill, saying she'll cast a vote based on what's in the final package.

"We have to do things in the right way," Hagan said. "We cannot be putting debt on the United States' books in a frivolous way."

Earlier in the week, a similar question prompted Hagan to talk about a trip to the National Archives she took the day before she was sworn in. Among the artifacts she got to see was a copy of President John F. Kennedy's inauguration speech.

"It was really fascinating," she said. "Because if you look at that, it's talking about the dire economy that we were in at the time, talking about unemployment, talking about the automobile (industry) being in trouble. And it's just fascinating to fast-forward to 2009 and it's a very similar circumstance."

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That answer is vintage Hagan, who is something of a history buff, as well as a doting mom.

One of the few personal items Hagan brought into her white-walled temporary Senate offices is a photo book, a Christmas present from her youngest daughter. Filled with hundreds of pictures, it documents Hagan's campaign. Many of the faces staring back from the pages are the same ones working in her offices now.

Key aides from the campaign signed on to work with Hagan over the next six years. And they've not been surprised that the same woman who can get out of sorts if she misses exercise time would rather walk from her office to the Capitol than ride the underground tram designed to whisk members to and fro.

"Kay was very big on trying to make me go to yoga," said chief of staff King. "So after we won this primary, I told her if we won the general I'd go to yoga with her. So she's literally searching for a yoga class. ... She brings it up every three days."

Rather than relaxing and stretching, Hagan is running at a fevered pitch these days - putting together her Washington team, assembling state offices. The first opened in Raleigh this week. Her state headquarters in Greensboro is expected to open next month.

During the election, Hagan hammered Dole as an absentee senator, someone who did not return to the state often enough and was out of touch with the people's concerns. That puts extra pressure on Hagan and her staff to show a difference.

Besides public events and office hours in Washington and back in the state, King said more expansive plans are in the works.

"One of the things we've talked about doing is having her do a tour of the state, almost a town hall tour, to talk to people about what their interests are," King said.

Of course, returning to North Carolina also will allow her time with family. Her husband, Chip, plans to spend time with her in Washington every month and said it was family considerations that caused Hagan to initially refrain from running.

Sitting on a couch outside the senator's office last week, Chip Hagan recalled the week after his wife's announcement she wouldn't run, a decision she later reversed.

"The three most disappointed people were her children. Kay was concerned that if she ran for the Senate it would adversely impact the amount of time she could spend with our family," Chip said. "The kids' perspective was, you don't have to worry about coming to us, we'll come to you."

Chip Hagan is the model of a proud husband. He was issued a lapel pin to mark him as the spouse of a senator, which may save him some hassle going through security. He talks about being awed by the history of the place ... and perplexed by it as well.

He pointed to a lone flower arrangement that his wife had brought in to brighten up her otherwise spartan quarters. Delivery men with flowers had been turned away earlier in the week.

"We can't accept flowers," said Hagan's communications director, Colleen Flanagan .

"Isn't that crazy?" the senator said. Still, no one in the office wants to run afoul of ethics rules.

"There's just no room for error on stuff like this," Flanagan said.

Chip Hagan smiled, noticing the pained look on his wife's face.

"For somebody who loves flowers, this is the hardest thing to do," he said.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com