Controversial North Carolina State Representative Mike Clampitt dies from leukemia
Clampitt was running for re-election at the time of his death.
Mike Clampitt was a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He died from leukemia, a form of blood cancer, on March 18, 2026. Earlier this month, Clampitt won the party primary in a re-election bid for his House seat.
He and Democrat Joe Sam Queen contested the seat in question against each other from the 119th District near the Tennessee border five times beginning in 2012. In those match-ups Queen won three times and Clampitt emerged on to twice, along with two other races since then where Queen was not running. Along the way, he also spent time with House in the role of Assistant Sergeant at Arms.
Previously, Clampitt had unsuccessfully run for the Board of Commissioners for Swain County, North Carolina in 2006 and 2010. In more recent years, he garnered significant criticism and blowback for his membership in far-right organizations.
One was the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia group that was involved with the 2021 attack of the United States Capitol, after which Clampitt reportedly left the organization. Another was the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which has a lengthy history of espousing white supremacist views and promoting the revisionist ‘Lost Cause’ ideology.
James Michael Clampitt was a native of Bryson City, North Carolina. He graduated from Swain County High School, followed by Forsyth Technical College and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Prior to entering politics, Clampitt was the longtime Chief of the Charlotte Fire Department.