Controversial North Carolina gubernatorial candidate rattles Republicans in key state

The political world is still reeling from a CNN report that the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, posted racist and explicit messages on a porn website forum more than a decade ago.

Although the Associated Press has not confirmed the contents of the report and Robinson has denied it, the article sparked a last-minute push by some Republicans to convince Robinson to withdraw from the race for governor in the crucial state.

Robinson has refused to fade into the background, presenting himself as the latest in a long line of out-there, populist Republican candidates to emerge in the shadow of former President Donald Trump. He has attracted so much attention not only because his story is compelling, but also because it could impact Trump’s hopes of returning to the White House in November.

An unconventional politician emerges

A former furniture factory worker, Robinson’s political career took off when he attended a Greensboro City Council meeting in 2018 and spoke out against the council’s plan to cancel a gun show in the wake of a school shooting in Florida. Robinson’s fiery defense of gun rights — “I’m going to come out here in front of this city council and raise hell like these left-wing lunatics do until you listen to the majority of the people in this city,” he said — went viral.

Robinson left his job in the furniture business and began speaking publicly, addressing the National Rifle Association and other conservative groups. He ran for lieutenant governor in 2020 as a Republican, winning a statewide office that many politicians spend decades preparing for in their first campaign. Robinson quickly began positioning himself to be the first Black candidate of a major party for governor in 2024, when Democrat Roy Cooper would be term-limited out of office.

Robinson also quickly became known for stirring up conservative culture wars, taking a particularly hardline stance on sexual and gender politics. In a 2019 Facebook post, Robinson, who admitted to paying for his then-girlfriend to have an abortion in the 1980s, said abortion in America was “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.” In a 2021 speech at a church, he used the word “filth” to refer to gay and transgender people.

Robinson’s provocative language led some Republicans to worry that he would have little chance of winning a general election campaign in North Carolina, a state that has a history of rejecting radical conservative gubernatorial candidates in favor of moderate Democrats. Most Republican voters did not share that concern, and earlier this year nominated Robinson over two challengers widely seen as more electable. Robinson got additional support in the primary from Trump, who compared him to Martin Luther King, Jr.