Charlotte mayoral candidate reminds voters – she’s white

A Charlotte mayoral candidate appears to want people to know that she’s Republican, smart – and white.

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

Barnette, who turned 53 on Friday, is a former Mecklenburg County magistrate making her first run for office.

“I’m gonna take it out, it was a mistake,” she said Friday. “I was in there (on Facebook) for a short while.”

The post drew angry responses on Facebook.

“You are NOT doing conservatives or Republicans any favors,” one man wrote.

In a WTVI debate last month, Barnette criticized last September’s Charlotte protesters. She called the protests “an expression of Democratic behavior.”

Asked how the city could help its lower-income residents, Barnette said, “I don’t think we should encourage more lower-income people to (come to) Charlotte.”

“We should attract higher-income people.”

Barnette is a distant long-shot in a GOP primary featuring city council member Kenny Smith and businessman Gary Dunn.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Charlotte mayoral candidate reminds voters – she’s white."