Based in Durham, FLIP NC is a grassroots group fighting for a more progressive future. From the beginning, our overarching goal has been to end partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina so we can compete for our progressive values on a level playing field. In years past, we’ve focused on electing Democrats in the most competitive legislative districts in the state.

Kate Compton Barr, a Durham native who has lived in Davidson for the past eight years, is taking a different approach. Barr is running in a North Carolina Senate district so gerrymandered she has no shot at winning. Her campaign slogan?

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t win.

N.C. Senate District 37, which encompasses Statesville and Mooresville, N.C., leans right by more than 25 points. Barr’s district was previously Democratic, but she was recently drawn into N.C. Senate District 37, created to be a safe seat for Republicans. So why is Barr running?

“Voters deserve to have real choices about who represents them. It's how we hold our elected officials accountable for the decisions they make on our behalf. But, in gerrymandering, instead of voters choosing their representatives, the representatives choose their voters. That's wrong.” - Kate Barr

Since Republicans took over our state legislature in 2010, North Carolina has had some of the most egregiously gerrymandered election districts in the country. In 2022, the N.C. Supreme Court ruled that Republicans’ latest legislative and congressional maps were unconstitutional, violating the free elections, equal protection, free speech, and freedom of assembly clauses of our state constitution. The court ordered the legislature to redraw the maps.

But when Republicans took over the N.C. Supreme Court following the 2022 elections, far-right Republican Chief Justice Paul Newby took the unprecedented step of re-hearing the settled case, and the GOP court ruled that any amount of partisan gerrymandering is allowed. Following the decision, the Republican-controlled state legislature threw out the legislative maps used for the 2022 elections and enacted two of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in U.S. history.

Under the new maps, Barr’s district moved from solidly Democratic to strongly right-leaning – unwinnable for Democrats.

Without a state court willing to protect the rights of North Carolinians and serve as a check on the Republican-controlled state legislature, Republicans will continue to choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. It’s critical that we spread the word: Taking back our state courts is our one big shot in the next decade at getting fair maps and protecting the rights of all North Carolinians.

To bring attention to gerrymandering and the way it corrupts our politics, Barr and the FLIP NC team are joining forces to host a screening of award-winning documentary Slay the Dragon at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham on July 16 at 6pm. Tickets are available now and prices start at $10. The evening will begin with pizza at a meet and greet with N.C. Supreme Court Justices and former civil rights lawyers Allison Riggs and Anita Earls – the only two Democrats currently on the court. After the screening, the justices will participate in a Q&A about gerrymandering, how it threatens North Carolinians’ voting rights, and what actions we can take to combat it.

We hope to see you there!