This Charlotte-area Democrat will try running as Republican to beat Tim Moore

Mary Ramsey
Updated November 7, 2025 8:04 PM

Former Democratic North Carolina Senate candidate Kate Barr plans to run as a Republican against U.S. Rep. Tim Moore in 2026. Provided by Kate Barr

A former Charlotte-area state Senate candidate is switching parties — on paper — to challenge a North Carolina congressman.

Kate Barr announced Friday she plans to run against U.S. Rep. Tim Moore in the 2026 Republican primary for North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District. Barr ran as a Democrat in 2024 against longtime GOP state Sen. Vickie Sawyer with the campaign slogan “Clear eyes, full heart, can’t win.”

Barr’s unconventional campaign, meant to make an argument against gerrymandering producing deeply partisan districts, made national headlines. She raised tens of thousands of dollars but lost 64.7% to 35.3%. After the defeat, Barr co-founded the nonprofit Can’t Win Victory Fund to support other long-shot candidates and advocate against gerrymandering.

Snip...

Barr says she’s running for the U.S. House as a Republican because it’s “the only way that makes sense within the jacked up system that power-hungry politicians have built.”
Snip...
Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article312824439.html#storylink=cpy