- "We are staying in this race. We are in it to win it and with your help, we will," said Robinson in a video released Thursday.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson denies allegations, made in a CNN report, that he made certain racial and sexual comments on adult websites in the early 2000s. He dismissed the story, which broke on Thursday, as “tabloid trash” and compared himself to US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, saying he was the victim of a “high-tech lynching.”
Sources have told Carolina Journal that Robinson is under pressure to step aside in the governor’s race, but the North Carolina State Board of Elections deadline to withdraw was midnight Thursday.
While Robinson was notably absent from the JD Vance rally in Raleigh Wednesday, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee have made no official public statement about the allegations. The North Carolina Republican Party issued a statement Thursday evening.
“The left can try and 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 reads.
With absentee ballots going to voters on Friday and early voting set to begin on Oct. 17 in North Carolina, the accusations have created turbulence this week for Republican voters. In Carolina Journal’s new poll out Thursday, Robinson stands at 39.5% support among North Carolina voters to his opponent, Josh Stein’s, 45%, with a 3.99% margin of error.
Earlier this week, Robinson posted a video publicly challenging Stein to a debate, saying his campaign has offered multiple dates, but Stein’s camp has refused. In comments to local news outlet CBS-17, a Stein spokesperson said a debate with Robinson “would only serve to legitimize him.”
US Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, tweeted Thursday evening, without mentioning Robinson, but urging voters to focus on the key issues in the election.
It was a tough day, but we must stay focused on the races we can win. We have to make sure President Trump wins NC and support the outstanding GOP candidates running for key NCGA and judicial races. If Harris takes NC, she takes the White House. We can’t let that happen. #ncpol
— Thom Tillis (@ThomTillis) September 20, 2024
Scott Lassiter, Republican nominee for NC Senate District 13, issued a call for Robinson to step aside in the gubernatorial race.
“As a proud Republican, I stand for hard work, fiscal responsibility, and liberty. But no one should feel obligated to support a candidate solely due to party affiliation,” Lassiter stated. “Wrong is still wrong, and if the recent allegations against Robinson are true, combined with his previous public rhetoric, I believe it’s time for him to step aside. North Carolinians deserve a viable choice in this election.”
As details of the story unfold, Robinson remains defiant, stating publicly that he will not leave the race. On Thursday, Robinson did an interview with CNN and released a video denying the claims. He also denied that his campaign staff are resigning and alleged that the Stein campaign used artificial intelligence tools to create the posts shared in CNN’s investigative KFile story.
“This is not us; these are not our words; and this is not anything that is characteristic of me, nor has it ever been,” he told CNN.
“With all of these matching details, how can you deny this is you?” asked a CNN reporter in the interview.
“I’m not going to get into the minutia of how someone manufactures these salacious tabloid lies, but I can tell you this, there’s been over $1 million spent on me through AI by a billionaire’s son bound and determined to destroy me,” he said.
“It’s just like Clarence Thomas said years ago, this a high-tech lynching,” Robinson added. “Back years ago they used to use rope; now they use cable.”