A potential candidate from Kannapolis says he has decided to end a planned political campaign due to concerns over his family’s well-being after facing anti-LGBTQ harassment.
Andy Craighill-Middleton no longer plans to run for the U.S. House in North Carolina’s 6th District in next year’s midterms. Craighill-Middleton, a Jewish transgender man, says he has faced months of harassment at his family home.
The family says that includes having vehicle tires slashed, a Pride flag torn down, and glass broken and left on his driveway. WSOC-TV reported that Kannapolis police have visited the house four times since February over reported incidents of harassment. Craighill-Middleton says he's concerned about the safety of himself, his partner and their 2-year-old son.
“They're the ones who created the foundation for me to be able to run. Having a great home to come back to, a great family, to come back to every single day was quite literally, one of the things that made it possible for me to run at all," Middleton said. "And looking at throwing my family right back into that stress — on top of not having a stable or safe home situation, that wasn't possible.”
Craighill-Middleton ran for office in 2024 — mounting a campaign for the same House seat — and says that time, he mostly received online threats. But since announcing he planned to run again in 2026, he says the harassment has intensified.
The family is no longer staying at their home and is instead couch-surfing. They have also launched a GoFundMe to fund renovation efforts for a school bus they plan to live aboard.
So far, more than half of the $12,000 fundraising goal has been raised.
