import re
p = re.compile(r'((?:(?!\band\b)[^\'])*(?:\'[^\'\\]*(?:\\.[^\'\\]*)*\'(?:(?!\band\b)[^\'])*)*)(?:and|$)')
s = "section_category_name = 'computer and equipment expense' and date >= 2015-01-01 and date <= 2015-03-31"
print([x for x in p.findall(s) if x])