Chairman responds to mayoral candidate who reminds voters she's 'white'

September 5, 2017 at 7:01 PM EDT - Updated August 16 at 6:12 AM

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV/The Charlotte Observer) - A Charlotte mayoral candidate made a statement on social media on why people should vote for her. One of those reasons included race.

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

PREVIOUS: Charlotte mayoral candidate reminds voters – she's white

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

She could not be immediately reached, but the post appeared to be later taken down.

The post drew angry responses on Facebook.

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

NCGOP Chairman Robin Hayes responded to Barnette Tuesday:

The Charlotte mayoral contest will be decided based on who can best promote public safety, provide economic development, and improve critical infrastructure needs. This contest will not be decided based on the skin color the candidates. Any suggestion that a candidate is more or less qualified for political office based on their skin color alone, is offensive to North Carolina Republicans and we condemn it. This type of suggestion has no place in our public discourse. With violent confrontations in the streets under Mayor Roberts, we have seen the dangers to public safety when a Charlotte mayor fails the leadership test of bringing all people together. We believe that bringing people together starts with the Republican belief that government should deliver critical government services in a colorblind way, and in a society that judges all people by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin.

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.