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RALEIGH — Ask 10 voters who identify themselves as "progressive" Democrats what their wing of the party believes in, and you might very well get 10 different answers.

Passionate and motivated, progressives — particularly the activists among them — are not given to lockstep thinking.

Still, those who identify themselves as progressives seem to be rallying more to Chapel Hill financial adviser Jim Neal than to Greensboro state Sen. Kay Hagan .

The voting bloc is far from decisive. But if the trend holds, it could be good news for Neal, whose campaign relies on the grass-roots one-on-one politicking that progressive activists favor.

For Hagan, it exposes a liability that comes along with one of her greatest strengths: experience in government and connections to the state's powerful Democratic establishment.

"I feel pretty clearly pulled toward Neal in this case," said Dan Coleman , an Carrboro town alderman, who borrowed lingo now being used in the presidential debate to frame the decision between the Democratic Senate front runners.

"Who is the candidate for change versus who is the candidate that's kind of mired in status quo politics?" Coleman asked. "I think it's clear Hagan is in the latter category."

Some progressives embrace the term liberal to describe their wing of the party, while others say it doesn't do justice to their focus on issues. In general, progressives argue government should be in the business of helping individuals, either through regulating businesses or targeting government programs to help those in need.

Of course, gaining the support of progressives is not necessarily a path to victory. Although the progressive wing of the party includes activists who will staff phone banks and knock on doors, it does not control the traditional levers of power. Moderate Democrats, who are more sympathetic to businesses, have more fundraising clout, and they comprise a larger portion of sitting legislators.

Hagan and Neal are the leading candidates in the Democratic primary with by far the most money and name recognition, but at least three others have said they'll enter the race: former Republican John Ross Hendrix of Cary, trucker Duskin Lassiter of Lexington and podiatrist Howard Staley of Moncure.

Hagan was elected to the state Senate in 1998 and comes from a political family. Her uncle was Lawton Chiles, who served as both governor and a U.S. senator from Florida.

Hagan is not giving up on the progressive vote. In an interview Friday, she declined to place herself in any one philosophical camp, but said her campaign's emphases on providing health care to all and ending the war in Iraq should appeal to all voters, including progressives.

"I think they want to get rid of (incumbent Republican) Elizabeth Dole as much as I do," Hagan said.

Neal, too, was reluctant to pigeonhole himself.

"I've never given a great deal of thought to whether I'm a conservative Democrat or a progressive," he said. "I'd like to describe myself as an open-minded Democrat."

He is a financial adviser with a background in investment banking and a history of raising funds for presidential candidates, such as former Gen. Wesley Clark and Sen. John Kerry .

That's not exactly the background of a political outsider, Coleman acknowledges.

"But as I have looked into him and seen him run his campaign, my initial suspicions have been allayed," he said.

Neal has run his campaign with a relatively robust online presence, which has won him support in the net roots, activists who raise money and rally support for candidates using a variety of Internet tools. Hagan has yet to roll out more than a basic Web site with limited information.

James Protzman , who writes under the name Anglico and is one of the founders of the BlueNC social networking site, says he likes Neal's credentials and has reservations about Hagan's record.

He points to a legislative battle during the 2007 General Assembly, when lawmakers had a choice between cutting upper-end income taxes or the sales tax, which disproportionately affects lower income workers. Largely at the insistence of the Senate, for which Hagan is a key budget writer, the legislature cut the income tax.

Protzman calls that a case of the government favoring the wealthy over "regular" people.

Hagan says that the issue is more complicated than just a vote for or against the tax options. The same legislation, she said, expanded the earned income tax credit in the state and bolstered education funding.

She added that North Carolina's higher upper-end income tax rate was driving people out of state, meaning North Carolina would lose out entirely on those taxes.

The idea of balancing interests is one that comes up a lot when talking to self-identified progressives.

And Protzman was quick to caution that all progressives are not going to back Neal.

"At one level, they're simply divided about electability," Protzman said. "If they conclude that he can't be elected, why burn time, money, political capital and energy on him?"

Hagan has the support of party stalwarts such as former Gov. Jim Hunt and Gov. Mike Easley .

Meanwhile Neal, who is running as an outsider, would be the first openly gay U.S. Senate nominee in the state's history.

"I really don't think Jim Neal has much of a chance," said Lee Baker , a UNCG professor who describes himself as torn between the two candidates. "I have no difficulties with that orientation at all, but we live in North Carolina, which is a very conservative state."

Baker said while he philosophically finds himself sympathetic to Neal, he wants someone who can defeat Republican Elizabeth Dole .

But others reject that logic, saying that old political bulwarks no longer apply.

"Six months ago, I was listening to people tell me that there's no way on God's green earth we're going to elect a black man," said David Allen , referring to Barack Obama rising as a front-runner in the Democratic presidential nomination contest.

Far more important, he said, is where candidates stand on issues.

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