Wake deputies investigate racist campaign sign graffiti

Bill Randall said Tuesday that the spray-painted letters on his sign along Burlington Mills Road in Wake Forest reminded him of the hatred his father faced during the civil rights movement.

"My dad was actively involved in helping blacks to be registered to vote in the Deep South. This was in Mississippi," he said, adding that the story of his father narrowly escaping a lynch mob has been etched into his memory.

Randall was quick to point out, however, that he does not believe the Ku Klux Klan is necessarily responsible for the graffiti.

"Anytime someone (uses) 'KKK,' it denotes some sort of racial hatred," he said. "I'm not trying to defend anyone, but I think, in fairness, anyone could write the letters 'KKK.'"

He said he believes the defacing of his sign could have been racially or ideologically motivated. Still, he said, he believes the overwhelming majority of Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, would denounce the racist graffiti.

Randall is a tea party candidate running for the Republican nomination in North Carolina's 13th U.S. District. He faces former U.S. Attorney George Holding and former Raleigh Mayor Paul Coble in the May 2012 primary.