Mark Robinson of North Carolina denies CNN report on racist and sexually explicit comments as “tabloid lies”

Some North Carolina Republicans are bracing for the fallout from Thursday's news about Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, their party's gubernatorial candidate. And a Republican candidate for the state Senate is publicly demanding that Robinson end his campaign and be replaced by another GOP candidate.

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

CNN published a long, detailed article Thursday afternoon linking a series of graphic, offensive and racist comments to Robinson's online accounts and describing how Robinson was linked to those comments.

Robinson's alleged online comments from about a decade ago, which he also denied in an interview with CNN, include statements such as “I'm a black Nazi!” and “Slavery isn't bad. Some people have to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would definitely buy a few.”

He also insulted the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. with racist language, repeatedly used homophobic slurs, and admitted to “spying” on women in gym showers when he was 14.

In a video statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Robinson also described the allegations as “salacious tabloid lies” and accused his Democratic opponent's campaign team of passing on the information that led to the upcoming CNN article.

“I can assure you that the things you're about to see in this story are not the words of Mark Robinson,” he said. “You know my words, you know my character and you know I've been completely transparent in this race and before.”

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

The conservative Carolina Journal reported Thursday that Robinson was under pressure to end his campaign.

Robinson was not present at Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance's event in Raleigh on Wednesday.

The deadline for a candidate to withdraw is Thursday, as absentee ballots are mailed to overseas and military voters on Friday morning. If Robinson were to resign on Thursday, the North Carolina Republican Party executive board would choose his successor. Any votes that went to Robinson in the election would go to his successor instead, according to state law.

The party is prohibited from nominating a successor who already ran in the same race in this year's primary, meaning State Treasurer Dale Folwell and attorney Bill Graham would not be allowed to replace Robinson.

Republican Senate candidate calls for Robinson to end campaign

As Business NC reported, Robinson was expected to defend himself on CNN on Thursday amid a damning report allegedly detailing Robinson's activity on online messaging boards that used racist and anti-Semitic language.

A Republican candidate for the General Assembly has “publicly called for action in response to the recent Robinson scandal.”

State Senate candidate Scott Lassiter, the Republican candidate in a southern Wake County district against Democratic Senator Lisa Grafstein, said he was “deeply concerned about the allegations.”

“As a proud Republican, I stand for hard work, fiscal responsibility and freedom. But no one should feel obligated to support a candidate based solely on their party affiliation,” Lassiter said in a statement.

“A wrong is still a wrong, and if the recent allegations against Robinson are true, along with his past public rhetoric, I believe it is time for him to resign. The people of North Carolina deserve a viable alternative in this election.”

Lassiter campaigned for Folwell in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Lassiter had previously sued Republican House Speaker Tim Moore over a relationship Moore had with Lassiter's ex-wife. The suit was later settled out of court.

Lassiter continued, “I believe that for the good of the state and our party, he should suspend his campaign to give a high-caliber candidate the opportunity to finish this race.”

Some Republicans are concerned that Robinson could drag down other members of his party who are also running. There are more than 10 statewide elections coming up, including the governorship, and the division of power in the General Assembly is at stake. Republicans have a veto-proof two-thirds majority in the state legislature and hope to maintain it. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is completing his second term, is only allowed to serve two consecutive terms and is not seeking re-election.

Robinson rose to fame after his pro-gun rights speech at a Greensboro City Council meeting went viral, despite already having thousands of followers on Facebook. Throughout his time as lieutenant governor and as a gubernatorial candidate, news organizations have dug up a steady stream of comments. Some date back to before he ran, such as when he said in a Facebook selfie video that women should “keep their skirts down” to avoid abortions. Several anti-LGBTQ+ comments, as well as his remark that “some people need to be killed,” date back to his time as lieutenant governor.

Robinson made the “killing” comments during a speech at a church in which he spoke about World War II and “diminishing freedom.” He said “bad people” should be punished by the military and police.

The now-defunct nonprofit organization run by Robinson's wife, Yolanda Hill, is under federal scrutiny and owes the state $132,000, The N&O previously reported. Robinson called the investigation politically motivated.

Under the dome

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