Robinson vows to continue campaign as N.C. Republicans brace for fallout of CNN story
Posted on 09/19/2024
Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, vowed to continue his campaign Thursday as the GOP braced for the fallout over a CNN story about comments he made on a pornographic website’s message board more than a decade ago.
CNN published the story Thursday afternoon, reporting that Robinson had called himself a “black NAZI!” on the forum in 2010 and voiced support for bringing back slavery the same year. Robinson, who has expressed hostility toward transgender people in his campaign, also said on the message board that he likes to watch transgender pornography.
CNN reported that many of Robinson’s comments were “gratuitously sexual and lewd in nature,” and were made between 2008 and 2012 on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board. CNN said the comments were made under the username minisoldr, a moniker Robinson used frequently online.
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Robinson denied making the comments to CNN.
The GOP candidate sought to get ahead of the story with a video he posted on social media shortly before the report’s publication.
“Let me reassure you: The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” Robinson said in the video, posted Thursday afternoon on X. He ended the video by declaring he is “staying in this race.”
Robinson released the defiant video amid mounting speculation about the fate of his campaign, with some North Carolina Republicans suggesting he should end his bid.
“For the sake of the party, for the sake of our down-ballot races … and for the sake of Donald Trump’s victory in North Carolina, I think Mark Robinson needs to drop out” said Jonathan Bridges, who managed the campaign of one of Robinson’s rivals in the GOP primary, former congressman Mark Walker.
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Scott Lassiter, a Republican running for state Senate in North Carolina, also called on Robinson to suspend his campaign. Lassiter said in a statement, “North Carolinians deserve a viable choice in this election.”
CNN detailed extensive efforts to verify that the username under which the comments were made belonged to Robinson. The network said Robinson listed his full name on the website and an email address that he has “used on numerous websites across the internet for decades.”
Ahead of the story’s publication, few seemed to know what the new information would entail, but Republican officials, including some working on behalf of Trump’s presidential campaign, were pressuring Robinson to withdraw from the race, according to multiple political professionals in the state who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.
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“[Republican] establishment is reeling and trying to figure out what to do,” one political operative in the state said in a text message. “Robinson is defiant and says he’s staying in.”
A Trump campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly said the campaign is not reaching out directly to Robinson to try to encourage him to step aside.
Michael Lonergan, a spokesman for the Robinson campaign, said in an email that it was “complete fiction” that Robinson was under pressure to drop out of the race. Lonergan later said in a text message that Robinson is “most certainly not” dropping out.
Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, is running against Democrat Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general. They are vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in a state that is also hotly contested in the presidential race.
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Robinson’s campaign has been weighted by his long history of incendiary rhetoric, including about a top issue this election cycle, abortion.
More recently, though, he has faced increased scrutiny over his personal life. The Assembly, a North Carolina news outlet, reported this month that he regularly visited porn shops in Greensboro in the 1990s and 2000s, long after he said he became a devoted Christian. Robinson’s campaign called the Assembly story “complete fiction.”
Even if Robinson were to withdraw from the governor’s race Thursday, it is probably too late to remove his name from the ballot, because absentee ballots have already been printed, said Karen Brinson Bell, who leads the State Board of Elections.
An additional complication, she said, is that overseas and military ballots are scheduled to go out Friday, as required by federal law. It would take about two weeks and cost more than $1 million to reprint ballots, Bell said.
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“As the chief election officer, I know where we are in this process,” Bell said. “To remove a name from the ballot at this time would be an insurmountable hurdle.”
Bell noted that she thought it was too late to take independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name off the ballot when he requested that several weeks ago, but she was overruled by state courts.
If Robinson does withdraw, the state Republican Party would have the ability to nominate a new candidate, and votes for Robinson would go to that individual, Bell said. But Robinson’s name would remain on the ballot, she said.
Robinson’s campaign has had enthusiastic support from Trump, who praised Robinson this year as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
But Robinson canceled an appearance with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in North Carolina this week, and Vance didn’t mention him.
Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Robinson while campaigning in the state, including during events there last week.
Robinson experienced a quick rise in politics after a video went viral of him advocating against gun control at a Greensboro City Council meeting in 2018. He launched a campaign for lieutenant governor the following year and won in a crowded GOP primary.
CNN published the story Thursday afternoon, reporting that Robinson had called himself a “black NAZI!” on the forum in 2010 and voiced support for bringing back slavery the same year. Robinson, who has expressed hostility toward transgender people in his campaign, also said on the message board that he likes to watch transgender pornography.
CNN reported that many of Robinson’s comments were “gratuitously sexual and lewd in nature,” and were made between 2008 and 2012 on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board. CNN said the comments were made under the username minisoldr, a moniker Robinson used frequently online.
Advertisement
Robinson denied making the comments to CNN.
The GOP candidate sought to get ahead of the story with a video he posted on social media shortly before the report’s publication.
“Let me reassure you: The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” Robinson said in the video, posted Thursday afternoon on X. He ended the video by declaring he is “staying in this race.”
Robinson released the defiant video amid mounting speculation about the fate of his campaign, with some North Carolina Republicans suggesting he should end his bid.
“For the sake of the party, for the sake of our down-ballot races … and for the sake of Donald Trump’s victory in North Carolina, I think Mark Robinson needs to drop out” said Jonathan Bridges, who managed the campaign of one of Robinson’s rivals in the GOP primary, former congressman Mark Walker.
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Scott Lassiter, a Republican running for state Senate in North Carolina, also called on Robinson to suspend his campaign. Lassiter said in a statement, “North Carolinians deserve a viable choice in this election.”
CNN detailed extensive efforts to verify that the username under which the comments were made belonged to Robinson. The network said Robinson listed his full name on the website and an email address that he has “used on numerous websites across the internet for decades.”
Ahead of the story’s publication, few seemed to know what the new information would entail, but Republican officials, including some working on behalf of Trump’s presidential campaign, were pressuring Robinson to withdraw from the race, according to multiple political professionals in the state who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.
Advertisement
“[Republican] establishment is reeling and trying to figure out what to do,” one political operative in the state said in a text message. “Robinson is defiant and says he’s staying in.”
A Trump campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly said the campaign is not reaching out directly to Robinson to try to encourage him to step aside.
Michael Lonergan, a spokesman for the Robinson campaign, said in an email that it was “complete fiction” that Robinson was under pressure to drop out of the race. Lonergan later said in a text message that Robinson is “most certainly not” dropping out.
Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, is running against Democrat Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general. They are vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in a state that is also hotly contested in the presidential race.
Advertisement
Robinson’s campaign has been weighted by his long history of incendiary rhetoric, including about a top issue this election cycle, abortion.
More recently, though, he has faced increased scrutiny over his personal life. The Assembly, a North Carolina news outlet, reported this month that he regularly visited porn shops in Greensboro in the 1990s and 2000s, long after he said he became a devoted Christian. Robinson’s campaign called the Assembly story “complete fiction.”
Even if Robinson were to withdraw from the governor’s race Thursday, it is probably too late to remove his name from the ballot, because absentee ballots have already been printed, said Karen Brinson Bell, who leads the State Board of Elections.
An additional complication, she said, is that overseas and military ballots are scheduled to go out Friday, as required by federal law. It would take about two weeks and cost more than $1 million to reprint ballots, Bell said.
Advertisement
“As the chief election officer, I know where we are in this process,” Bell said. “To remove a name from the ballot at this time would be an insurmountable hurdle.”
Bell noted that she thought it was too late to take independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name off the ballot when he requested that several weeks ago, but she was overruled by state courts.
If Robinson does withdraw, the state Republican Party would have the ability to nominate a new candidate, and votes for Robinson would go to that individual, Bell said. But Robinson’s name would remain on the ballot, she said.
Robinson’s campaign has had enthusiastic support from Trump, who praised Robinson this year as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
But Robinson canceled an appearance with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in North Carolina this week, and Vance didn’t mention him.
Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Robinson while campaigning in the state, including during events there last week.
Robinson experienced a quick rise in politics after a video went viral of him advocating against gun control at a Greensboro City Council meeting in 2018. He launched a campaign for lieutenant governor the following year and won in a crowded GOP primary.
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