“VOTE FOR ME! REPUBLICAN & SMART, WHITE, TRADITIONAL,” former Mecklenburg County magistrate, Kimberley Paige Barnette wrote in a Facebook post she put up to draw attention to her candidacy for mayor of Charlotte.
For those who don’t believe a mayoral candidate would advertise herself as “white” pic.twitter.com/fXoBEKMolF
— T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) September 2, 2017
Barnette would eventually delete the photo and suspend her account, but not before a screen shot of the flier went viral, and reached the desk of numerous officials who’ve since condemned Barnette. The chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party himself has disavowed Barnette’s message, stating, “Any suggestion that a candidate is more or less qualified for political office based on their skin color alone, is offensive to North Carolina Republicans and we condemn it.”
Barnette had already lost the vote of many of those in attendance at a debate function in the city, when she suggested that her district ought to abandon programs that aid the low-income, stating, “I don’t think we should encourage lower-income people to (come to) Charlotte… We should attract higher-income people.” Now the 53-year-old faces an even steeper battle than she did then, as her leading opposition is no doubt primed to campaign against her open show of racism.
