Kate Barr: I’m Running to Lose in North Carolina – and Expose that It’s Impossible for Me to Win

By Kate Barr

Welcome to North Carolina, one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. I’m writing as the losing candidate for NC Senate District 37. Yes, that’s right. Losing. In fact, I’m so connected to this loss that most folks call me Kate Barr Can’t Win like it’s my full name now.

I’ve known I was going to lose since the day I filed to run. Our Republican supermajority drew our voting districts to make sure of it. Does that sound wrong to you? If it does, you’re exactly right.

The plainest way to see the Republican shenanigans that they have imposed on North Carolina is by looking at our Congressional Districts. In 2022, when we had fair maps, we sent 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans to Congress. This year, we’re projected to send 3 Democrats and 11 Republicans – although we could maybe send 4 Democrats and 10 Republicans if there is a big blue wave.

Here’s the thing: Have the people of North Carolina changed in the past two years? No, not at all. The only thing that changed is our right to a fair election. First, the Republicans took control of our State Supreme Court in November 2022. Then, in unprecedented fashion, the court reheard a partisan gerrymandering case. They flipped the prior decision and ruled that our state constitution allows partisan gerrymandering. Basically, we, the voters in North Carolina, have a right to free elections but not to fair ones.

That’s some real bullshit.

North Carolina is a true purple state. It’s fairly common for statewide races to be decided by a few hundred votes out of nearly 6 million ballots cast. (For example, Cheri Beasley lost the 2020 NC State Supreme Court race by 401 votes.)

Yet, despite our true purple hue, there are only 4 or 5 truly competitive state house and senate races –out of the total 170–  in the election this year. Most Democratic districts have been “packed” to group as many Democrats together as possible in a single district. The few remaining unpacked Democrats are “cracked” across district lines to dilute their voting power. And that is how you make a purple state look blood red.

We are certainly not the only gerrymandered state in our nation. At least 16 states score a grade of “C” or lower on Princeton’s nonpartisan redistricting report card. North Carolina earned an F – A devastating distinction.

Why do these weird district lines matter? Because they rob voters of their role in our system of checks and balances. One need look no further than Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage in Western North Carolina, which has been largely neglected by our state legislature until two weeks ago to see how gerrymandering has harmed humans.

North Carolina Republicans hold a supermajority in our state legislature. That means that they have the votes to override our Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto. Their power is basically unchecked. Republicans have used this power to relax building safety rules and building codes. For example, Republicans have stomped out efforts to restrict building on landslide-risk mountainsides – a restriction that could have helped many people when Hurricane Helene hit. Instead, they have prioritized builder profit margins and vacationer views over life safety measures. In turn, builders and developers have donated twice as much to Republican campaigns as they have to Democrats. What a cozy little arrangement, no?

In theory, we, the voters, should be able to vote these so-called leaders out of office. But, the Republican map makers used surgical precision to carve our maps up into extremely safe districts. As such, the Republican state house and senate members can take money from whomever and pass legislation that says whatever they please without fear of losing their jobs. That’s wrong.

So, how do we fix it in North Carolina? Persistence in our judicial races.

States like Michigan have used Citizen’s Ballot Initiatives to turn map-making control over to independent citizen’s commissions. But, in North Carolina, citizens can’t put measures on the ballot. Our only path to fair maps is to retake the State Supreme Court. 

For us, that looks like keeping Justice Allison Riggs in her seat this November, re-electing Justice Anita Earls in 2026, and then taking 3 seats in the 2028 judicial elections. All in time for new districts based on the 2030 Census. 

I know that seems like a long time from now. That’s why, for all of us in highly gerrymandered states, we have to keep our wits about us and find ways to have fun on this journey to fair elections. Crack some jokes. Pack your election night watch parties. And, of course, run for office even if you know you can’t win. You will still raise awareness and make a difference in the future. Find the joy and we will fight our way forward.

Kate Barr is the state senate candidate for NC’s Senate District 37. She has served as PTO president, town planning board member, and president of a nonprofit early childhood education center board, and she works (remotely) as a behavioral scientist at the University of Michigan.