‘100 percent chance of loss’: Why NC Democrat launched doomed campaign

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Kate Compton Barr refuses to give anyone who would support her the false hope that she’ll actually win her race in 2024.

As a Democrat, she recently filed to run for a state Senate district but has no expectation of serving in Raleigh.

“I think we’re talking a 100 percent chance of loss here,” she said.

She even made her campaign website katebarrcantwin.com. On it, there’s a button people can click that reads “(Don’t) Donate.”

“Get in losers, we’re (not) going to the Senate,” she writes.

So, why is she in the race?

“The thought of walking into the booth in November and only having one name on my ballot for my Senate district made me nauseous,” she said. “It really feels like our politicians are trying to protect their power more than they are trying to represent their areas.”

Her campaign began after Republicans in the General Assembly redrew the districts for the 2024 election.

Barr is a behavioral scientist who works for the University of Michigan but lives in Davidson.

Barr is running in district 37, which is currently represented by Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus and is comprised of communities in the north part of Mecklenburg County. Marcus won the district in 2022 by a 2-1 margin over Republican Bonni Leone.

Under the redrawn district, it will still include some parts of Mecklenburg but will also include all of Republican-heavy Iredell County, which is currently represented by Republican Sen. Vickie Sawyer who is running for re-election. The conservative John Locke Foundation rates the new district as “Safe Republican” based on recent voting data in the district.

Recognizing the likely outcome in 2024, Marcus chose not to run for re-election. She filed this week to run for Commissioner of Insurance instead.

Barr says the situation underscores why politicians should not be redrawing districts themselves.

“We need independent commissions to draw our districts,” she said. “We need people who aren’t motivated by money or power or maintaining their jobs to draw our districts.”

When asked about Barr’s campaign, a spokesperson for Sen. Sawyer wrote in an email, “Senator Sawyer looks forward to seeing Kate Compton Barr on the campaign trail.”

The new state Senate map is also subject to a federal lawsuit filed last month. Black voters in the northeastern part of the state are challenging how Republicans drew two of the districts, saying they unconstitutionally sought to dilute the power of Black voters in the region.

Republicans stated repeatedly during the redistricting process that they did not use racial data in drawing the districts. They do acknowledge drawing them to benefit their party.

“We drew those districts consistent with our understanding of what the law is,” said House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland).

The new state House and Senate maps could make it easier for Republicans to retain their veto-proof supermajority in the legislature. The deadline for candidates to file to run for office was at noon Friday.

Gov. Roy Cooper (D) told CBS 17 earlier this week he thinks it would take “one of the biggest blue waves ever” for Democrats to take control of either the House or Senate, and that he expects the 2024 election to be about whether Republicans keep the supermajority or not.

As for Barr, she says she’ll only use donations she receives to cover basic costs. She says she’ll give anything beyond that to candidates who have a better chance of winning their races.

“It’s really important that we’re honest with voters about what’s going on. And, if I were to stand up and pretend I could challenge Vickie Sawyer or whomever, that would be disingenuous. I can’t,” she said. “If you’re gonna lose, you might as well lose with style.”

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