A second bill bearing the name of the late Western North Carolina state house Rep. Mike Clampitt has been introduced in the General Assembly. 

Titled “Mike’s Law,” the bill aims to reform the state’s approach to both drunk driving and how courts function. Late last month, another bill, titled “Mike Clampitt 1st Responder Tax Fairness Act,” was introduced.

A prominent Western North Carolina legislator may be gone, but his legacy of commitment to public safety and first responders will live on thanks to a bill filed in the General Assembly a month after his passing. 

House Bill 1019, titled the “Mike Clampitt 1st Responder Tax Fairness Act,” proposes a targeted change to North Carolina’s tax code aimed at reducing financial burdens on certain volunteer emergency service organizations. 

The tiny Haywood County Town of Clyde has joined a growing number of Western North Carolina communities by formalizing its opposition to data centers through a 12-month moratorium, but with limited jurisdiction beyond its borders and the possibility of preemption by Raleigh looming, Clyde knows it can’t go it alone.

The Republican parties of Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties, during a joint meeting, selected a replacement for Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), who passed away March 18 at age 71 following a prolonged battle with cancer.

Mike Clampitt, the Swain County native and retired fire captain who represented portions of Western North Carolina in the General Assembly until his passing after a long illness on March 18, was laid to rest at the Lauada Cemetery in Bryson City on April 4, after a service at Western Carolina University’s Bardo Arts Center. 

In October 2018, Raleigh lobbyist Fred Bone was traveling in Western North Carolina and decided to go for an overnight backpacking trip in Swain County, leaving his car at Fontana Lake. From there, he caught a ride to the Road to Nowhere, from which he embarked. 

After setting up camp in a rainstorm and suffering a rough night, Bone broke camp early the next morning and headed out, but he needed a ride from the trailhead back to his car. He found a cell signal near a mountaintop and called the only person he could think of in the area that he thought might be up for a quick favor — Mike Clampitt. It was 9:30 a.m. on the first day of early voting for a host of elections, including Clampitt’s.   

Mike Clampitt, the Republican State House representative for Swain, Jackson and Transylvania counties, has passed away at the age of 71.

The conservative legislator was particularly dedicated to wildlife conservation issues, as well as combatting impaired driving.

Mike Clampitt will advance to the November General Election with a convincing victory over a pair of challengers.

The Republican primary in House District 119 — Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties — now unfolds against a backdrop of unresolved disaster recovery and rising voter frustration with a legislature that has struggled to deliver a state budget but still found time to strip powers from incoming Democrats and gerrymander another Republican congressional seat at the behest of President Donald Trump. 

Western North Carolina’s next election cycle is already shaping up amid a volatile mix of entrenched incumbents, disaster recovery fallout and deepening national divides, with competitive races stretching from the U.S. Senate on down to county-level offices. 

While marquee statewide contests appear to be headed toward familiar General Election matchups, cracks are emerging down the ballot, where public trust and institutional legitimacy are demanding attention from voters now more than any other time in recent memory.