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North Carolina Candidate For Mayor Called Herself A "Smart, White, Traditional" On Her Facebook Page

Kimberley Paige Barnette also once said she doesn't want more "lower income people" in Charlotte.

A mayoral candidate in Charlotte, North Carolina, was slammed after she said on her Facebook page that people should vote for her because she is white. 

On her Facebook page, Kimberley Paige Barnette, 53, included several reasons why she is qualified to be mayor.

“VOTE FOR ME!” Kimberley Paige Barnette posted on Facebook. “REPUBLICAN & SMART, WHITE, TRADITIONAL.”

Although the post as well as her page has been removed, screenshots were taken and were later posted by WBTV.

NCGOP Chairman Robin Hayes responded to Barnette Tuesday:

“The Charlotte mayoral contest will be decided based on who can best promote public safety, provide economic development, and improve critical infrastructure needs. This contest will not be decided based on the skin color the candidates. 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. With violent confrontations in the streets under Mayor Roberts, we have seen the dangers to public safety when a Charlotte mayor fails the leadership test of bringing all people together. We believe that bringing people together starts with the Republican belief that government should deliver critical government services in a colorblind way, and in a society that judges all people by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin.”

Barnette has made off-putting comments in the past regarding race and class. During a WTVI debate last month, Barnette criticized those who protested the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott in September 2016. 

Also during the debate, Barnette said, “I don’t think we should encourage more lower-income people to (come to) Charlotte,” when asked how the city could help people of low-income status.

“We should attract higher-income people,” she added. 

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