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Revision as of 17:38, 20 May 2022

Kathy Jean Barnette
Barnette in 2019
Born (1971-09-06) September 6, 1971 (age 53)
Alabama
Alma mater
Political partyRepublican
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army Reserve
National Guard
RankSpecialist[1]
Spouse(s)Carl[1]
Children2

Kathy Jean Barnette (born September 6, 1971) is an American politician, author, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, Barnette unsuccessfully sought the party's nomination in the 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania[2] and ran for United States House of Representatives in Pennsylvania 4th Congressional District in 2020.[3] She has espoused homophobic and Islamophobic views, and has promoted conspiracy theories.[4][5][6][1]

Early life

According to Barnette, her mother was raped at the age of 11 by a 21-year-old man. Her mother became pregnant as a result of the rape, which lead to Barnette's birth on September 6, 1971, in Alabama.[7][8][9][10] She was raised by her mother on a pig farm in the south of the state, in a house where her great-great-great grandmother, who was born a slave, formerly lived.[10][11]

She received an undergraduate degree in finance from Troy State University, and an M.B.A. from Fontbonne University.[12] Barnette served seven years in the United States Army Reserve and United States National Guard.[1][10]

Professional career

Barnette worked as a corporate financial analyst for many years.[11][13][14] Barnette's entry into political commentary began with political videos on Facebook. The videos led her to becoming an irregular guest on Fox & Friends.[11] Barnette has also written opinion articles for Fox News.[15][16] She also became a regular commentator on Philadelphia conservative radio.[11] Barnette has made frequent appearances on One America News Network and Newsmax as well.[10]

Political career

Barnette entered politics by running for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district in the 2020 election. She was unopposed in the Republican primary.[10] She lost the general election to incumbent Madeleine Dean and refused to concede, however, she said later on that she had accepted the results of the election.[3][10][17][18]

On Election Day, Barnette filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County election officials claiming that the county violated state laws on pre-canvassing ballots prior to the opening of polls by notifying voters of potential problems with their mail-in ballots. Her attorneys then withdrew the lawsuit.[19]

Barnette had a close relationship with My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell for a time. Lindell said of Barnette in June 2021, "She is just an amazing person" and "I never heard of anyone being so tenacious."[10]

Barnette announced she would run to fill retiring Senator Pat Toomey's seat in early April 2021, and received some high-profile endorsements from Michael Flynn and Sebastian Gorka.[2][10][20][21] She raised about $600,000 by June 30, 2021, more than Sean Parnell or Jeff Bartos, the major candidates at the time.[10] She surged in the polls in late March 2022 and started receiving major attention from news outlets in May.[1][8][9][14][18] Barnette began to receive a lot of scrutiny over past tweets she had made, including some claiming that former President Barack Obama was a Muslim, and others that opponents called homophobic and Islamophobic.[4][5][6][1][22][23][24][25] On May 15, 2022, images surfaced showing that Barnette had participated in the "Stop the Steal" rally which preceded the 2021 United States Capitol insurrection, though her campaign has denied participating in any acts of violence, she has stated that she "brought" three buses of "pissed off patriots" to the rally.[10][26][27][28][29][30][31]

She came third in the 2022 primary, behind Mehmet Oz and David McCormick.[32]

Political positions

According to The Tennessee Star in 2022, Barnette is "running on a platform emphasizing free-market health care, border security, school choice, domestic energy production, tax reform and protection of the unborn."[33]

Abortion

Barnette is opposed to abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, citing her own life as "the product of a rape" as inspiration.[1][10][11][29]

Electoral history

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, 2020[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Madeleine Dean (incumbent) 264,637 59.5
Republican Kathy Barnette 179,926 40.5
Total votes 444,563 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

Barnette is married to her husband Carl, and has two children.[13][1] She stated that she has been a Christian since she was about 19 years old.[12]

Published works

  • (2020). Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: Being Black and Conservative in America. Center Street. ISBN 978-1546085751

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Tully, Tracey (13 May 2022). "In Pennsylvania, a Hard-Right Candidate's Star Rises". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b WFMZ-TV (April 7, 2021). "Kathy Barnette enters race for US Senate in Pennsylvania". WFMZ.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  3. ^ a b c "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  4. ^ a b CNN, Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck (May 13, 2022). "Surging GOP candidate Kathy Barnette has long history of bigoted statements against gays and Muslims". CNN. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b "Who is Kathy Barnette, the Black woman running for Pennsylvania Senate?". The Independent. May 17, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Newell, Jim (May 14, 2022). "The New "Ultra-MAGA" Contender in Pennsylvania's Senate Primary". Slate Magazine.
  7. ^ Creitz, Charles (2022-05-09). "Senate hopeful Kathy Barnette, born from rape, 'grateful' for serious national abortion discussion". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  8. ^ a b CNN, Dan Merica and Gabby Orr (May 13, 2022). "Barnette's quick rise has Republicans reeling over potential upset and what it could mean for November". CNN. Retrieved 2022-05-17. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ a b "Who is Kathy Barnette?". Washington Examiner. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Seidman, Andrew (2021-07-26). "Inside a hunt for voter fraud on Philly's Main Line and the conspiracy world that embraced it". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  11. ^ a b c d e Burnley, Malcolm (October 31, 2020). "The Loneliness of the Black Female Republican". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  12. ^ a b Kassal, Matthew (May 16, 2022). "Kathy Barnette presents a different side". Jewish Insider.
  13. ^ a b "Bio". Kathy Barnette. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  14. ^ a b Mayorquin, Orlando (May 13, 2022). "Who is Kathy Barnette? The GOP candidate surging late in Pennsylvania Senate race". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  15. ^ Barnette, Kathy (2018-04-28). "Kathy Barnette: Kanye gets it. Just because I'm black don't assume I'm a Democrat". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  16. ^ Barnette, Kathy (2018-01-19). "My take on Trump's first year as an African-American mom and veteran". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  17. ^ "Barnette Doesn't Concede To Dean: 'The Enemy Will Be Thwarted'". Abington, PA Patch. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  18. ^ a b Doherty, Erin (2022-05-12). "What to know about the GOP Senate candidate who Trump has warned against". Axios. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  19. ^ Ullery, Chris (November 5, 2020). "Barnette withdraws lawsuit against Montgomery County election officials". Bucks County Courier Times. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  20. ^ Barnette, Kathy (April 5, 2021). "Kathy Barnette for US Senate - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  21. ^ Gorka, Sebastian (April 6, 2021). "Sebastian Gorka Tweet". Twitter. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021.
  22. ^ Walsh, Sean Collins (May 15, 2022). "Kathy Barnette says tweets under scrutiny in Pa. Senate race were 'not even full thoughts'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  23. ^ Paybarah, Azi (2022-05-15). "Kathy Barnette Says She 'Can't Provide a Lot of Context' for Her Anti-Islamic Tweets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  24. ^ "Kathy Barnette on past Islamophobic tweets: 'I would never have said that'". MSNBC.com. May 13, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  25. ^ Joseph, Cameron (May 16, 2022). "Conspiracy Theorists Are on the Cusp of Sweeping Pennsylvania's GOP Primaries". www.vice.com.
  26. ^ CNN, Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck (May 16, 2022). "Barnette said she was leading buses to DC for 'our 1776 moment' on January 6, 2021". CNN. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  27. ^ Wilson, Christopher (May 16, 2022). "Photos show GOP Senate candidate Kathy Barnette marching with Proud Boys on Jan. 6". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  28. ^ Ax, Joseph (2022-05-16). "Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Barnette marched alongside Proud Boys on Jan. 6, report says". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  29. ^ a b Alter, Charlotte (May 16, 2022). "Kathy Barnette Is the Trumpiest Candidate Who Wasn't Endorsed by Trump". Time. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  30. ^ Metzger, Bryan (May 16, 2022). "GOP congressman who's been subpoenaed by the January 6 committee is backing Kathy Barnette, a PA Senate candidate who marched with Proud Boys in DC". Business Insider.
  31. ^ "Kathy Barnette shakes up US Senate race on back of abortion debate". Financial Times. May 15, 2022.
  32. ^ Itkowitz, Colby (18 May 2022). "Trump urges Oz to 'declare victory' before vote tally complete in Pa". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  33. ^ Vasoli, Bradley (12 May 2022). "Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Barnette's Wikipedia Article Pulled". The Tennessee Star. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
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