Some North Carolina Republicans are bracing for the aftermath of news that broke Thursday about Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, their party’s candidate for governor. And one Republican candidate for state Senate is publicly calling for Robinson to end his campaign and for another GOP candidate to replace him.

But Robinson called the allegations “salacious tabloid trash” in a video posted on social media.

CNN published Thursday afternoon a long, detailed story tying a series of graphic, offensive and racist comments to Robinson’s online accounts, including a description of how they matched Robinson to the comments.

Robinson’s alleged online comments made about a decade ago, which he denied to CNN in an interview as well, include saying “I’m a Black Nazi!” and “Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few.”

He also described the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with racial slurs.

In the video statement released on X, formerly Twitter, Robinson also described the allegations as “salacious tabloid lies” and accused his Democratic opponent’s campaign of leaking the information that led to the forthcoming CNN story.

”Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” he said. “You know my words, you know my character and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before.”

Robinson, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has trailed in several polls in the governor’s race against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein.

The Carolina Journal, a conservative publication, reported on Thursday that Robinson has been facing pressure to end his campaign.

Robinson was not at Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance’s event in Raleigh on Wednesday.

The deadline for a candidate to withdraw is Thursday, since absentee ballots go out to overseas and military voters on Friday morning. If Robinson were to resign Thursday, the executive committee of the North Carolina Republican Party would select his replacement. Any votes that went to Robinson in the election would go to his replacement instead, according to state law.

The party is prohibited from selecting a replacement who already ran in the same race in this year’s primary. That means State Treasurer Dale Folwell and attorney Bill Graham would not be allowed to replace Robinson.

Republican Senate candidate calls for Robinson to end campaign

Business NC reported that Robinson had been expected to defend himself on CNN Thursday in anticipation of a damaging story that allegedly deals with Robinson’s activity in online messaging boards which included racist and antisemitic language.

A Republican candidate for the General Assembly has “issued a public call to action in response to the most recent scandal” about Robinson.

State Senate candidate Scott Lassiter, the Republican candidate in a southern Wake County district against Democratic Sen. Lisa Grafstein, said he has “deep concerns about the allegations.”

“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 said in a statement.

“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.”

Lassiter campaigned in the Republican gubernatorial primary for Folwell.

Lassiter previously sued Republican House Speaker Tim Moore over a relationship Moore had with Lassiter’s former wife. The lawsuit was later settled out of court.

Lassiter went on to say that “for the good of the state and our party, I believe he should suspend his campaign to allow a quality candidate to finish this race.”

Some Republicans are concerned that Robinson could drag down others in his party who are also on the ballot. There are more than 10 statewide races including governor up for grabs, as well as the balance of power in the General Assembly. Republicans have a veto-proof supermajority in the state legislature and are hoping to maintain that. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, finishing his second term, is limited to two consecutive terms and is not running for reelection.

Robinson rose to fame after his pro-gun rights speech at a Greensboro City Council meeting went viral, though he already had thousands of followers on Facebook. A steady stream of comments have been unearthed by news organizations throughout his time as lieutenant governor and as a gubernatorial candidate. Some are from before he ran for office, like when he said in a Facebook selfie video that women should “keep (their) skirt down” to avoid abortion , while several anti-LGBTQ+ comments and his remark that “some folks need killing” have been made while he’s been lieutenant governor.

Robinson made the “killing” comments during a speech at a church during which he was talking about World War II and about “freedom slipping away.” He said “wicked people” should be punished by the military and police.

The now-closed nonprofit run by Robinson’s wife, Yolanda Hill, is being scrutinized by the federal government and owes the state $132,000, The N&O previously reported. Robinson has called the scrutiny politically motivated.

This story was originally published September 19, 2024, 3:06 PM.