Republican In Name Only: Lefty Activist Enters North Carolina GOP Primary

A self-described “progressive” activist has entered a North Carolina Republican primary, claiming it “is the only way to kick these corrupt cowards out of office.”

Kate Barr, a former Democrat and behavioral scientist based in Davidson, announced she will challenge first-term Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) in the March 3 Republican primary. Barr says heavily Republican-drawn maps guarantee a GOP victory in the general election, making the primary the only contest that matters.

“I’m not a Republican. But I am running in the Republican primary,” Barr states on her campaign website. “Running as a Republican is the only way to kick these corrupt cowards out of office.”

Barr argues that voters are effectively disenfranchised by district lines she says are designed to protect incumbents. “Your leaders should represent you. You should be able to vote them out when they do a bad job,” she writes. “Instead, they’ve rigged the maps to make sure the Republican candidate will win the general election every time.”

North Carolina’s 14th District, which covers parts of Charlotte and surrounding communities, is widely viewed as safely Republican. Moore, the former speaker of the North Carolina House, won the seat in 2024 by nearly 16 points.

Barr has made no effort to conceal her ideological differences with Moore or the GOP. In a November statement, she said, “I’m not pretending that I suddenly woke up a Republican, I’m the same person I’ve always been. My values haven’t changed. My message hasn’t changed.”

Her campaign platform reflects those values. Barr supports banning partisan gerrymandering at the federal level, expanding Medicaid, restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies, raising taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans, and eliminating federal income tax on the first $100,000 a family earns. She also opposes the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, calling instead for expanded immigration courts and visa programs.

Barr previously ran as a Democrat in 2024 against Republican State Senator Vickie Sawyer, campaigning under the slogan “Clear eyes, full heart, can’t win” to highlight what she described as structurally unwinnable districts. She lost that race by nearly 30 points, but later co-founded the “Can’t Win Victory Fund,” a nonprofit aimed at backing similar protest-style campaigns.

Moore’s campaign has emphasized reducing inflation, lowering costs, and promoting a pro-growth economic agenda driven by the private sector.

“I believe we grow the economy by letting the private sector lead,” Moore said in an interview recently. He has opposed expanding Obamacare subsidies and supports enforcing existing immigration law.

Barr frames her primary challenge as an attempt to disrupt what she calls a system driven by ideological extremes. “Most of the policies passed by Congress are about a politician avoiding a primary challenger,” she writes. “Those challengers tend to come from the extreme of a party.”

Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly, which passed new congressional maps last year that are expected to net the GOP additional seats in 2026. Those maps are being challenged in court by left-wing advocacy groups, including Common Cause and the NAACP.