Kathy Barnette
Barnette in 2024
Personal details
Born	Kathy Jean Barnette (1971-09-06)September 6, 1971 (age 54) Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Carl[1]
Children	2
Education	Troy State University (BS) Fontbonne University (MBA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	Specialist[1]
Unit	United States Army Reserve National Guard

Kathy Jean Barnette (born September 6, 1971) is an American politician and political commentator. A member of theRepublican Party, she ran for theUnited States House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district in2020, and was a candidate for the party's nomination in the2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania.^[2][3]

Barnette's mother wasraped at the age of 11 by a 21-year-old man. Her mother became pregnant as a result of the rape, which led to Barnette's birth on September 6, 1971, inAlabama.^[4][5] She was raised by her mother on apig farm in a house inSouth Alabama where her great-great-great-grandmother, who was born a slave, formerly lived.^[5][6]

She received an undergraduate degree in finance fromTroy State University, and an M.B.A. fromFontbonne University.^[7] Barnette served seven years in theUnited States Army Reserve andUnited States National Guard.^[1][5]

Barnette worked as a corporate financial analyst.^[6][8][9] Barnette's entry into political commentary began with political videos on Facebook. The videos led her to becoming an occasional guest onFox & Friends. She also became a regular commentator on Philadelphia conservative radio.^[6] Barnette has made frequent appearances onOne America News Network andNewsmax as well.^[5]

Barnette entered politics by running forPennsylvania's 4th congressional district in the2020 election. She was unopposed in theRepublican primary.^[5] She lost the general election to incumbentMadeleine Dean and initially refused to concede. While later saying she had accepted the results of the election, Barnette continued to raise doubts about her own election and the wider2020 presidential election.^{[2][5][10][11][12]}

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.^[13]

Barnette had a close relationship withMy Pillow CEOMike 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."^[5]

Barnette announced she would run to fill retiringSenator Pat Toomey's seat in early April 2021, and received endorsements fromMichael Flynn andSebastian Gorka.^{[3][5][14][15]} She raised about $600,000 by June 30, 2021, more thanSean Parnell orJeff Bartos, the front runners at the time.^[5] She surged in the polls in late March 2022 and started receiving significant attention from news outlets in May.^{[1][4][9][11]}

Barnette began to receive scrutiny over past tweets she had made, including somespreading the conspiracy theory that former PresidentBarack Obama is aMuslim, and others that have been described ashomophobic andIslamophobic. In a 2015 YouTube video, Barnette said that it is okay todiscriminate against Muslims and compared rejectingIslam to "rejectingHitler's orStalin's worldviews." In comments on her radio show, she said that acceptinghomosexuality would lead to acceptingpedophilia andincest. In one post, she called atransgender person "deformed" and "demonic".^[16]

On May 15, 2022, images surfaced showing that Barnette had participated in the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack; 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.^[17]

Barnette finished third in the 2022 primary, behindMehmet Oz andDavid McCormick, a loss she blamed on comments made byFox News hostSean Hannity.^[18][19] In October 2022, she stated that she would vote for Oz in the election, but declined to endorse him.^[20]

Barnette announced she would not run for the Senate again in2024.^[21][22][23] As of 2023, she was involved inVivek Ramaswamy's presidential campaign, which was suspended in January 2024.^[24]

According toThe Tennessee Star, in 2022 Barnette ran "on a platform emphasizing free-market health care, border security,school choice, domestic energy production, tax reform, and protection of the unborn."^[25]

Barnette is opposed to abortion, including in cases ofrape andincest, citing her own life as "the product of a rape".^{[1][5][6][26]}

Barnette is married to Carl, and has two children.^[1][8] She stated that she has been aChristian since she was about 19 years old.^[7]

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKathy Barnette.

• Official website
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Kathy Barnette atPolitiFact

• 1971 births
• Living people
• Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections
• People from Alabama
• 21st-century American women politicians
• 21st-century Pennsylvania politicians
• 21st-century African-American women politicians
• 21st-century African-American politicians
• Pennsylvania Republicans
• Women in Pennsylvania politics
• Politicians from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
• Writers from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
• Black conservatism in the United States
• Troy University alumni
• Fontbonne University alumni
• 21st-century American far-right politicians
• Protesters in or near the January 6 United States Capitol attack
• American conspiracy theorists
• Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections
• Alt-right politicians
• African-American candidates for the United States Senate
• 21st-century African-American writers
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