The Democratic Hero of NC Senate Dist. 37

 

Kate Barr (in mauve, seated at head of table),
with some of her campaign volunteers

I wrote about the singular Democrat Kate Barr back in December. She had just signed up to run in the newly gerrymandered Senate Dist. 37, wherein the Republican elves carved the liberal enclave of Davidson off from Mecklenburg and stuck it in a district with Iredell County, making a district that is 62% Republican. Barr's campaign Twitter bio caught my attention and my fancy: "Dem for NC Senate District 37. Gerrymandered out of a chance. F*ck it. I’m running anyway .... let’s raise a little hell and have some fun."

Her campaign motto, printed on T-shirts and pink hoodies -- "Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can't Win" -- became a pretty brilliant piece of marketing. The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz has just reported on Kate Barr's improbable (but oh so hopeful) race, and I'm so glad I sent her money back in December (even though she said at the time that she didn't want anybody's money). What had started as an in-your-fat-face defiance of Republican power grabbing has become a genuine campaign with a sparkly website, yard signs, bumper stickers, and many volunteers willing to hit the streets.

They say Kate Barr can't win, but what she is doing is boosting Democratic performance in an impossible district, which increases the likelihood for Democratic successes in statewide races up above her on the ballot. In other words, Kate Barr is a hero.

Here's what I wrote about her in December, and her Republican opponent.