NORTH CAROLINA, USA — NEW: CNN is reporting that Mark Robinson made numerous lewd and racist comments on a porn forum before his time in politics. Robinson denied the claims and said he's staying in the North Carolina governor's race. Read the latest here.
North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson said Thursday he is not dropping out of the race for North Carolina governor. His announcement, posted to social media, came during rumors that he was under pressure by the Republican party to suspend his campaign in anticipation of a scathing CNN report.
That report has now been published, and in it, CNN connects Robinson to a username on a porn site, which made numerous lewd and racist comments more than a decade ago.
During a Thursday interview with CNN, Robinson denied he made the comments and suggested they were manufactured.
"A story leaked by him (Josh Stein) to CNN is appearing now. Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson," Robinson said in a video posted to social media.
"We are staying in this race. We are in it to win it," he continued.
Before the CNN article came out, WFMY News 2 reached out to Robinson's campaign to find out if he was facing pressure from Republicans to drop out of the race. Michael Lonergan, a spokesperson for Robinson's campaign, responded in a text message, saying it was "complete fiction" that GOP members wanted Robinson to drop out.
We also reached out to U.S. Senator Ted Budd's office before the article was published. A spokesperson for his office said, "We currently do not have all the facts. When Senator Budd has a statement to share, we will let you know." Since CNN's article was published, we've reached out again for comment.
It remains to be seen if former President Donald Trump will weigh in on the matter. Earlier this year, Trump endorsed Robinson during a rally in North Carolina. Trump's running mate JD Vance held a rally in Raleigh on Wednesday, but Robinson wasn't there.
Ballots for military and overseas voters are scheduled to be mailed out on Friday. The deadline for a statewide candidate to drop out of a race is one day prior - meaning, today. To withdraw, a candidate must submit a written request to the NC State Board of Elections by 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
According to state law, if Robinson exited the race and his name remained on the ballot, any votes for him would go to the person chosen by the state's executive committee.
WNCN reports that it learned the Lt. Gov.'s office at the state legislative building had been cleared out. A spokesperson for Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger's office said the Lt. Gov.'s staff had been notified of that "weeks ago."
“As part of the preparations for the next biennium, Senate leadership is evaluating the space allocations in both the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building. Since the Lt. Governor has a formal office within walking distance of the legislature, it was determined that his designated space in the Legislative Building could be converted to a meeting space for legislators. The Lt. Governor’s staff was notified weeks ago and did not raise any concerns about the space being repurposed,” wrote Lauren Horsch in an email.
He is an Army Veteran and later became a Greensboro businessman.
He is known for his strong political stances.
Back in 2018, his message on defending the Second Amendment went viral at a Greensboro City Council meeting. Then in 2020, he was elected to his first political post as Lt. Governor of North Carolina.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.