North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson vowed Monday to rebuild his campaign staff after several top aides quit and a key Republican group backed away from his race following a CNN report alleging he made explicit racial and sexual posts years ago on a pornography website’s message board.
The senior adviser said separately that four other top aides also had quit.
And the Republican Governors Association — anticipated to keep running ads to boost Robinson’s bid into the fall and oppose Democratic rival Josh Stein — will no longer support Robinson, association Chair and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told reporters Monday.
Recent polls have shown Stein, the current attorney general, ahead of Robinson.
Stein also has outspent Robinson on the airwaves.
“Our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow and no further placements have been made,” association spokesperson Courtney Alexander said in a prepared statement.“RGA remains committed to electing Republican Governors all across the country.”
Lee had been set to travel to North Carolina this week for a scheduled fundraiser for Robinson, but the event was canceled.
Lee said Monday the decision was made before CNN’s report ran.
Fellow Republican leaders are suggesting Robinson, with a long history of inflammatory comments, must make a credible defense or his gubernatorial bid is washed up.
Speaking after a campaign event Monday morning in the northwestern North Carolina mountains, Robinson said his campaign is “getting offers from all over” to help work for it.
“We’re right in the process right now of forming a team that we know can still lead us to victory,” Robinson said at a bakery in Wilkesboro about 80 miles north of Charlotte. “So we have full confidence in our ability to keep going.”
The CNN report last week unearthed posts it said Robinson left on a porn site’s message boards in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI;” said he enjoyed transgender pornography; said in 2012 he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama; and slammed the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot.”
Robinson also finds himself separated from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump who endorsed Robinson for governor before the March primary and has given him the stage to speak at his in-state rallies.
Robinson was not involved in Saturday’s Trump rally in Wilmington and Trump didn’t mention him. Trump has scheduled another North Carolina event for Wednesday in suburban Charlotte.
At a campaign event Monday in Charlotte, Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, described the comments as “pretty gross” but said that it is up to North Carolina voters to decide what they think of the comments and whether they believe Robinson’s defense.
“The people of North Carolina are going to make that decision,” Vance said in response to a question from a WBTV reporter. “I’ve seen some of the statements, I haven’t seen them all. Some of them are pretty gross, to put it mildly.
“Mark Robinson says that those statements are false, that he didn’t actually speak them,” Vance added. “So, I think it’s up to Mark Robinson to make his case to the people of North Carolina that those weren’t his statements and I’m going to let him make that case.”
Talking to reporters in Wilkesboro, Robinson said his campaign is talking about taking CNN “to task for what they have done to us ... you better understand I am coming after CNN full throttle.”
CNN provided no comment Monday.
Last week CNN said it had matched details of an account on the pornographic website forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name. CNN reported that details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s age, length of marriage and other biographical information.
In a speech to supporters at Vernon’s Cake Carousel, Robinson tried to focus on campaign issues like the economy, emphasizing public safety, public education, health care, infrastructure and housing.
He referred briefly to his working-class history saying he knows what it’s like to lose a job because the work is being moved to Mexico.
Robinson was elected lieutenant governor in his first bid for public office in 2020.
He tells a life story that includes childhood poverty, personal bankruptcy and religious renewal.
Considered a rising star in the party, he has been well-known for his fiery speeches and evocative rhetoric.
Trump had previously called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” for his speaking ability.
Stein and his allies have blitzed TV and the internet with commercials and footage of Robinson making incendiary comments.
In a 2021 speech in a church, Robinson used the word “filth” when discussing gay and transgender people.
On a Facebook post in 2019, Robinson said abortion in America is about “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down or your pants up — and not get pregnant by your own choice because you felt like getting your groove thing on.”
Robinson's Defense and the Fallout
Robinson has maintained his innocence, calling the allegations “salacious tabloid lies” and vowing to rebuild his campaign staff. He’s also claimed his campaign is receiving offers for new staff from across the country, and expressed confidence in his ability to win the election. However, the scandal has created a major hurdle for Robinson, who already faced an uphill battle against Stein.
The Impact on the North Carolina Election
The scandal surrounding Robinson has raised concerns about the impact on the North Carolina gubernatorial election. With Stein leading in polls, Robinson needs to make a strong comeback if he wants to win. The Republican Governors Association’s withdrawal of support is a significant blow, as the group had planned to spend millions on ads to help Robinson.
The scandal has also raised questions about the Republican Party’s ability to maintain control of North Carolina. Despite losing several staffers, Robinson said Monday that his campaign has “full confidence” in their “ability to keep going.”
Robinson, a Republican, assured the public last week that he was continuing his bid for North Carolina governor as rumors circulated he was being pressured to drop out. Several news outlets suggested that the lt. governor, a staunch supporter of current presidential candidate Trump, was specifically facing pressure from Trump’s campaign to drop out.
Robinson did not join Trump over the weekend at his campaign event in Wilmington, North Carolina. Robinson also did not appear as planned at last week’s campaign event for Trump’s running mate JD Vance, citing COVID.
Lt. Gov. Robinson is running against Democrat Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general, in the race to replace current Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The race was expected to be close between the two candidates.
In recent weeks, polls have placed Stein ahead of Robinson in the race for governor. An East Carolina University poll from earlier this month showed Stein held a six-point lead over Robinson, while 11% of respondents said they were undecided.
North Carolina is a battleground state, with registered voters nearly evenly divided between Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters. Heading into the 2024 general election, Republicans hold the majority in both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly.
Historically in North Carolina, top-of-ballot winners have been “a mix of Republicans and Democrats, even in the same election,” according to the State Board of Elections.
Absentee ballots were set to start getting mailed out to military and overseas voters on Friday, Sept. 20. Ballots for voters who requested absentee ballots will start getting mailed out on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Early in-person voting is scheduled to begin in North Carolina on Oct. 17, and end on Nov. 2. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The Race for Governor: What’s Next?
With the scandal unfolding, the race for North Carolina governor has become more unpredictable. Robinson faces an uphill battle to overcome the fallout from the CNN report. The next few weeks will be critical for Robinson as he attempts to rebuild his campaign and regain public trust. Robinson has hired a Donald Trump-associated attorney to investigate CNN in the wake of the damaging article. It will be up to the voters of North Carolina to decide whether they believe Robinson’s defense and whether the scandal will ultimately affect the outcome of the election.
