By RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson vowed on Thursday to remain in the race, despite a CNN report that he posted strongly worded racial and sexual comments on an online message board. Robinson dismissed the claims as “salacious tabloid lies” and affirmed that he would not be forced out of the race.
Robinson, the sitting lieutenant governor who decisively won his GOP gubernatorial primary in March, has been trailing Democratic nominee Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, in several recent polls.
“We are staying in this race. We are in it to win it,” Robinson said in a video posted Thursday on the social media platform X. “And we know that with your help, we will.”
Robinson referenced in the video a story that he said CNN was running, but he didn’t give details.
“Let me reassure you, the things you’ll see in that story — those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” he said. “You know my words. You know my character.”
North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson speaks at the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton on June 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Tribune News Service)
According to CNN, Robinson allegedly posted a series of racial and sexual comments on the message board of a pornography website over a decade ago. The report claims that Robinson, who could become North Carolina’s first Black governor, attacked civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in searing terms and once referred to himself as a “black NAZI.” CNN also reported that Robinson wrote of being aroused by a memory of “peeping” women in gym showers when he was 14 along with an appreciation of transgender pornography. Robinson at one point referred to himself as a “perv.” According to CNN.
AfrikTimes has not independently verified that Robinson authored or posted the messages. CNN reported that it linked details from the account on the pornographic website forum to Robinson’s other online accounts by comparing usernames, a known email address, and his full name.
According to CNN, the account holder’s discussed details, such as Robinson’s age, length of marriage, and other biographical information, matched his profile. The network also noted similarities in figures of speech frequently used on his public Twitter account and those found in the discussions on the forum.
Media outlets have previously reported on a 2021 speech by Mark Robinson in which he referred to gay and transgender people as “filth” during a church address.
Robinson has a history of making inflammatory remarks, which Democratic nominee Josh Stein has cited as evidence that Robinson is too extreme to lead North Carolina. Stein and others have raised concerns that Robinson’s campaign struggles could negatively impact former President Donald Trump’s chances of securing the state’s 16 electoral votes and potentially harm other Republican candidates down the ballot.
North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, left, shares the stage with former President Donald Trump during a rally at The Farm at 95 on April 9, 2022, in Selma, North Carolina. Robinson is under fire after a CNN report connected him to racist and sexist posts made on a pornography site over a decade ago.
Recent polls of North Carolina voters show Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris locked in a close race. The same polls show Stein with a roughly 10-point lead over Robinson.
Stein and his allies have repeatedly cited a Facebook post from 2019 in which Robinson said abortion in America was about “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
Following the recent CNN report, Stein’s campaign released a statement saying, “North Carolinians already know Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be Governor.”
According to state law, a gubernatorial nominee can withdraw from the race no later than the day before absentee ballots for military and overseas voters are distributed. That process begins on Friday, meaning the withdrawal deadline would be late Thursday. If Robinson were to withdraw, state Republican leaders would have the opportunity to select a replacement candidate.
Trump has been a vocal supporter of Robinson, often praising him as a rising star within the Republican Party. Robinson is known for his passionate speeches and provocative rhetoric. At a rally in Greensboro ahead of the March primary, Trump even referred to Robinson as “Martin Luther King on steroids” for his powerful oratory skills.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican candidate for North Carolina governor, speaks at a rally January 26, 2024, in Roxboro, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign, Ammar Moussa, said on X that “Donald Trump has a Mark Robinson problem” and reposted a photo of the two together.
Within the North Carolina GOP, there was a noticeable lack of response. Spokespeople for the state Republican Party, House Speaker, and Senate Leader did not respond to inquiries via email, voicemail, or text on Thursday. However, Scott Lassiter, a Republican state Senate candidate from a Raleigh-area swing district, publicly urged Robinson to “suspend his campaign to allow a quality candidate to finish this race.”
North Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein speaks with reporters outside Wilber’s Barbecue in Goldsboro, N.C., on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024.
Ed Broyhill, a North Carolina member of the Republican National Committee, said he spoke to Robinson Thursday afternoon and still supports him as the nominee. In an interview, Broyhill suggested the online details may have been fabricated. “It seems like a dirty trick to me,” Broyhill said.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the House GOP’s campaign committee, told reporters the report’s findings were “concerning.” Robinson, he said, has some reassuring to do in the state.
Robinson, 56, was elected lieutenant governor in his first bid for public office in 2020. He tells a life story of childhood poverty, jobs that he blames the North American Free Trade Agreement for ending, and personal bankruptcy. His four-minute speech to the Greensboro City Council defending gun rights and lamenting the “demonizing” of police officers went viral — and led him to a National Rifle Association board position and popularity among conservative voters.
Former President Donald Trump Pledges to Endorse Mark Robinson for North Carolina Governor
