The North Carolina Republican Party released a statement Thursday evening defending its gubernatorial nominee, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, after an explosive report about him was released.
“Mark Robinson has categorically denied the allegations made by CNN but that won’t stop the Left from trying to demonize him via personal attacks,” the North Carolina GOP posted on the social platform X. “The Left needs this election to be a personality contest, not a policy contest because if voters are focused on policy, Republicans win on Election Day.”
CNN released a damning report earlier Thursday highlighting how Robinson made many offensive statements on a porn site more than 10 years ago, including calling himself a “black NAZI” and wishing slavery to be reinstated.
Robinson, who in the past described “transgenderism” as “filth,” watched and commented online about transgender porn. He criticized the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., among other comments.
He has denied the report and said the alleged comments were uncharacteristic.
Several members of North Carolina’s Republican congressional delegation have distanced themselves from Robinson in the lead up to the report’s release.
Despite some members saying the allegations are “not good” and “very concerning,” the state’s Republican Party shifted the blame of the report toward Democrats.
“The Left can try to smear Mark Robinson all they want, but when voters go to the polls on Election Day, they are going to be asking one simple question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? The answer is overwhelmingly no and that’s why Republicans will win on November 5th,” the statement said.
Robinson, who has been endorsed by former President Trump, is facing off in the North Carolina governor’s race against state Attorney General Josh Stein (D). The Democrat currently has a lead of 11 percentage points over Robinson, The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s poll aggregation found.
Earlier Thursday, before the report was released, speculation about the article’s contents caused some to wonder if Robinson could pull out of the race, especially since the state is beginning to mail out ballots in the coming days. He said Thursday he would remain in the race.