A candidate for mayor in Charlotte, N.C., listed "white" among her qualifications in Facebook comments that have since been deleted.

The chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party rebuked Kimberley Paige Barnette, who has since apologized for her remarks.

"VOTE FOR ME!" Barnette, 53, wrote on her Facebook page, the Charlotte Observer reported

"REPUBLICAN & SMART, WHITE, TRADITIONAL."

Robin Hayes, state GOP chairman, said in a statement the mayoral race will not be decided based on the skin color of any of the candidates.

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"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," Hayes told WRAL

"This type of suggestion has no place in our public discourse."

Barnette, a former Mecklenburg County magistrate, later apologized, according to WRAL.

She is trailing her two competitors in the Republican primary for Charlotte's mayor, which is scheduled for later this month.

During a debate last month, Barnette said she doesn't think the city should "encourage more lower-income people to [come to] Charlotte," according to the Observer.

"We should attract higher-income people," she said.

She has also called protests "an expression of Democratic behavior."