CNN —
Four key members of North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s campaign have resigned, the campaign announced Sunday.
General Consultant and Senior Advisor Konrad Pogorzelski III, Campaign Manager Chris Rodriguez, Finance Director Heather Willier and Deputy Campaign Manager Jason Rizk have resigned from the campaign.
The announcement by Robinson’s campaign came shortly after CNN reported on incendiary comments the lieutenant governor and Republican gubernatorial candidate had made on a pornography message board more than a decade ago, in which Robinson described himself as a “black Nazi” and said he had “peeped” on women at a public gym when he was 14.
Robinson has a long history of making inflammatory statements, but the newly unearthed message board posts go a step further.
Since CNN’s report, some North Carolina Republicans have tried to urge Robinson to drop out, even though the state’s deadline for him to formally withdraw from the race has passed. Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is also trying to use Robinson’s ties to former President Donald Trump in a new ad.
In his statement announcing his withdrawal, Robinson reiterated his intention to continue in the campaign.
“My campaign will remain focused on the substantive issues at stake in this election: building a growing economy from Murphy to Manteo, lowering taxes and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy, keeping politics out of the classroom, and cracking down on violent crime and dangerous drugs,” Robinson said in a statement.
“Republican support in North Carolina has been consistently underrepresented in polls over the last few cycles, and with a large proportion of voters still undecided as we continue to ramp up efforts across the state, I believe our campaign is in a strong position to appeal to voters and win on November 5th.”
This is breaking news and will be updated.
