BURNSVILLE, N.C. – Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, had just finished an impassioned speech to a crowd of about 100 people gathered in a grassy town square nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina when he was warned. added the words.
“Winning the November election will not be easy for any of us,” Robinson said at a rally in early September. “It’s not about one lone Republican.”
CNN reported Thursday that Robinson made “a series of inflammatory comments” on a pornographic website message board more than a decade ago, ranging from supporting the restoration of slavery to calling himself a “black Nazi.” There was a wide range of things to call it.
Robinson denies authoring the messages.
Since starting his gubernatorial campaign last year and winning the North Carolina primary in March, the current lieutenant governor has been controversial, including mocking victims of school shootings and endorsing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. He gained a reputation for his inspiring remarks.
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During that time, Robinson was aligned with party leader and former president Donald Trump. The two appeared together numerous times in North Carolina, supporting each other’s campaigns.
Before the news broke last week, several voters in the Tar Heel State told USA TODAY they were committed to Trump and therefore planned to keep their remaining ballots straight-ticket Republican. Ta.
But amid the scandal, Mr. Robinson could be on his own in a difficult race that threatens his influence on the Republican Party in 2024.
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Robinson dipping support
Robinson’s campaign has already seen its approval ratings slump since September, with multiple opinion polls showing him trailing his opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, by double digits. It turns out.
Despite sharing the stage and having roughly the same Republican base, Mr. Robinson’s numbers fell short of Mr. Trump’s.
According to a recent Emerson College Poll and The Hill poll, Mr. Robinson fell behind in what was said to be the most competitive gubernatorial race of the season, but Mr. Trump trailed Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina. They maintain a 1 point advantage.
Robinson’s campaign said in a statement last Tuesday that it was not concerned. “Polls have consistently underestimated Republican support in North Carolina over the past few cycles,” said campaign communications director Mike Lonergan. “Mark Robinson remains well-positioned to win in November.”
Lonergan did not respond to requests for additional comment after Thursday’s report.
Matthew Pearl, 37, moved to North Carolina two years ago but told USA TODAY earlier this month that he wasn’t paying much attention to the gubernatorial race yet. Mr. Pearl, who is a registered Republican and plans to vote for Mr. Trump, said at the time that he would probably vote for Mr. Robinson, a fellow Republican.
But after reading CNN’s report, Pearl said that’s no longer the case.
“I was really disgusted,” said Pearl, who lives in Belmont, North Carolina, just west of Charlotte. “It was pretty shocking to see that…Everyone has negative things, but it’s like, you’re not a good person.”
Pearl does not believe Robinson’s denials and said he has begun considering Robinson’s opponent, Stein, but is still making a decision.
But he said, “I know I’m not going to vote for Mark Robinson, I’m telling you.”
‘Mixed reviews’ from Tar Heel State voters
Christina Osterbind opened a modest-sized shop stocked with Trump merchandise amidst the crowds of fried food stalls and brightly colored carnival rides at the 10-day North Carolina Mountain State Fair in Asheville earlier this month. I was tending the booth.
Osterbind, 46, of Virginia, said he plans to talk about politics with many fairgoers while he is out selling, with the heat still lingering. In addition to the presidential race, she said she has heard from many people about the gubernatorial race.
And even before the news broke, were the people there as supportive of Robinson as they were of Trump?
“Yes and no,” she said.
“It seemed like the reviews were kind of mixed,” Osterbind continued. “A lot of them don’t care about him. They like him. They like a lot of his opinions. But there are some things they don’t agree with.”
Kenny Holyfield, 52, has not yet made up his mind about his presidential race, but said he is leaning toward Trump at this point.
“I don’t like either,” but “I like more fiscally responsible politics,” said Holyfield, a construction project manager who lives on the mountain edge of Marion, North Carolina.
But when it comes to the gubernatorial race, Holyfield is far more determined and “definitely not Mark Robinson,” he said. “Too fanatical.”
“He’s too radical for me, especially when it comes to guns,” added Holyfield, who said he plans to vote for Stein this year.
Robinson first gained attention as a citizen in 2018 as a fierce advocate for gun rights on the Greensboro City Council. He entered politics shortly thereafter, and in 2020 became the state’s first black lieutenant governor.
Fallout from Robinson scandal continues
Trump, who once referred to Robinson as “Martin Luther King Jr. on steroids,” appears to be distancing himself from the embattled Robinson.
At a campaign rally in Wilmington on Saturday, Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Robinson at all. The same day, 100 miles away in Fayetteville, Robinson made his first public appearance since the CNN report.
Incendiary comments, staff resignations: What we know about the Mark Robinson scandal
Still, the former president hasn’t stopped supporting Robinson. And NBC News reported Friday that he has no plans to do so, despite calls from allies and advisers.
But other prominent Republicans have also withdrawn their support, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Republican Governors Association President Lee was scheduled to host a $500-per-ticket fundraiser this week in Greensboro, North Carolina, but his office confirmed Friday that the event and Lee’s appearance had been canceled. Ta.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp similarly “will not provide further support to Robinson’s campaign,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.
Several staff members have resigned since the scandal broke. The campaign announced Sunday that Chief Counsel Conrad Pogorzelski, Campaign Manager Chris Rodriguez, Finance Director Heather Willier and Deputy Campaign Manager Jason Rizk are resigning.
Cook Political Report immediately updated its rating on North Carolina’s gubernatorial race to “likely to be Democratic” following CNN’s news.
White House-sized interests in North Carolina
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press Sunday” and called the allegations against Robinson “disturbing.”
“If those are true, he is unfit to hold public office,” Graham said. “If they’re not true, he has the greatest defamation suit in the history of the country.”
Still, Graham told NBC’s Kristen Welker he doesn’t believe this will come back to bite other members of the Republican Party.
“Robinson is going to have to deal with that. There are no accusations or anything about Mr. Trump. This is all about Robinson,” Graham said Sunday. “It’s him, it’s not me, it’s not Trump. He’s probably the one who said these things. He has a right to protect himself. He needs to protect himself.”
But Democrats certainly hope that’s not the case.
“This is great news for Democrats,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) said on Meet the Press on Sunday. “So Robinson is actually the new dream candidate to run against him.”
If Robinson can pull off Trump in a kind of contrarian move, Harris’ victory in the battleground state of North Carolina could be the deciding factor in this year’s presidential election.
Trump’s lead in North Carolina is small compared to the poll lead he held over President Joe Biden before Biden withdrew from the race in late July.
In a memo Friday, Harris’ campaign argued that North Carolina is “even more competitive at the presidential level” after last week’s bombshell.
“Donald Trump and Mark Robinson have a long history of admiring each other, campaigning together, and sharing the same toxic policies,” the memo said. “Donald Trump’s and Mark Robinson’s fates in North Carolina are linked.”
