Mark Robinson campaign executives resign over porn scandal

Four members of Republican Mark Robinson’s campaign for North Carolina governor have resigned, just days after his bid was embroiled in scandal over reports he wrote a series of graphic messages on a pornographic website.

The departures include Robinson’s top campaign consultant, Conrad Pogorzelski III; campaign manager Chris Rodriguez; finance director Heather Whillier; and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk.

“I appreciate the efforts of those team members who made the difficult choice to step down from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors,” Robinson, the North Carolina lieutenant governor, said in a statement Sunday. “I look forward to announcing the new staff positions in the coming days.”

Pogorzelski told Axios that he and the others left the campaign “on their own accord.” He also said other members of the team, including two political directors and an operations director, had resigned.

The resignations come just days after CNN uncovered years of disturbing posts on a pornography website linked to an email address Robinson used before entering politics. The Republican candidate allegedly referred to himself on the site as a “black Nazi,” defended slavery and called himself a “pervert” who enjoyed transgender pornography.

Robinson has rejected the report and said he was not the source of the comments. He has refused to withdraw from the race. CNN used biographical information and an email address to link him to the posts, and the account on the porn site listed his full name.

The Washington Post later discovered separate posts using the same username on the pornographic website that praised Adolf Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf.”

The North Carolina Republican Party has continued to support Robinson. However, former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from the man, and he was not present at Trump’s recent rally in the state.

Robinson said new staff members would be announced soon.

“I am confident that our campaign remains in a strong position to make our case to voters for victory on November 5,” he wrote.