GOP Mayoral Candidate Claims Being White Is A Qualification To Lead

There are many reasons why someone might suggest they should be chosen to serve a particular elected office. Experience dealing with the types of duties the office might entail, or bold new ideas for what can be changed, are often touted by candidates who feel they’d be the best person for the job.

But implying that their race is better than others should never be one of those qualifiers.

Charlotte, North Carolina, Republican candidate for mayor Kimberley Paige Barnette is in hot water for doing just that — and on social media, no less. Barnette posted four quick rationales below her profile picture on Facebook for why she should become the next mayor.

“REPUBLICAN & SMART, WHITE, TRADITIONAL,” her profile read.

She immediately removed the post, but not before it went viral on social media. People were understandably upset.

The Republican Party of North Carolina has tried to distance itself from the distasteful post. Chair Robin Hayes said to local news station WRAL that the party recognized race is no qualifier for who should be selected to lead or not.

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. This type of suggestion has no place in our public discourse

Barnette is a former Mecklenburg County magistrate judge in North Carolina. She has since apologize for the post, saying it wasn’t her intent to suggest her whiteness made her a better candidate for office.

Barnette currently trails two other candidates for the mayoral post, the Hill reports. She also took heat earlier this year for suggesting the city of Charlotte should do its best to keep poor people from moving in. “I don’t think we should encourage more lower-income people to [move to] Charlotte,” she said last month.

Watch the video below to see what topics are of high importance in Charlotte’s mayoral election

Featured image via Screengrab