She couldn't win as a Democrat. Will running as a Republican work?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 November 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
Kate Barr ran for state Senate in North Carolina’s 37th District as a Democrat last year, expecting to lose. She even branded her campaign with the words “Kate Barr can’t win.” She ran the unconventional campaign to make an argument against gerrymandering — a tactic used in her state and across the country by politicians who have redrawn congressional maps to favor their party. But now she is switching tactics and running for U.S. Congress as a Republican.
Host Colby Itkowitz sits down with Barr to talk about her chances this time around and what she thinks of redistricting efforts around the country that are making congressional elections even less competitive.
Today’s show was produced by Reena Flores, Josh Carroll and Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Laura Benshoff and mixed by Sean Carter.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | America is changing. And so is the world. |
| 0:04.4 | But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. |
| 0:08.6 | It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. |
| 0:12.4 | I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. |
| 0:14.6 | I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is the global story. |
| 0:18.8 | Every weekday will bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet. |
| 0:24.4 | Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:30.9 | Kate Barr can't win. |
| 0:34.2 | That was her campaign slogan a year ago when she ran for a state Senate seat in North Carolina. |
| 0:41.9 | A local state Senate race is getting international attention for one candidate's unique platform. |
| 0:48.4 | It's not close at all. |
| 0:50.8 | Barr is running enthusiastically for a state Senate seat just outside Charlotte. |
| 0:56.0 | It is a vote for the future we want to see for our democracy. |
| 1:00.4 | Bar is not, however, running to win. |
| 1:04.5 | She was running as a Democrat in a district that was drawn to favor Republicans. |
| 1:09.0 | And that's why she had no real chance of getting |
| 1:11.5 | elected. We need fair maps. We deserve fair elections. We as voters should be able to hold our |
| 1:18.4 | elected leaders accountable and it's wrong that we can't. And so that looks like fair maps. |
| 1:24.2 | I want, frankly, fair play. Now Barr is back with a new campaign and a new tactic. |
| 1:31.1 | If you can't beat them, join them. |
| 1:36.1 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post reports. |
| 1:40.2 | I'm Colby Ekowitz. It's Friday, November 7th. |
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