North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson lost his bid for governor, after he failed to attract support even from other Republican voters following a scandal-plagued campaign in the closely watched battleground state.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, is projected to win the gubernatorial race. The race was called early in the evening by NBC and CNN as votes were still being counted in the Tar Heel State.
In September, a bombshell CNN investigation linked Robinson to years of lewd and racist comments on a pornography forum, including referring to himself as a “Perv” and a “Black Nazi.”
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Robinson’s campaign denied the reporting, but key staffers began leaving his campaign in droves, and former President Donald Trump’s campaign in the Tar Heel State seemed to avoid him. Earlier in the campaign, Trump praised Robinson, at one point even calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
Robinson, who received a coveted Trump endorsement in March, already had a long history of controversial statements about the Holocaust and World War II, Jewish Insider reported.
Stein’s campaign also targeted Robinson’s far-right views on abortion, linking him to past comments comparing it to slavery and “genocide.”
Stein declared victory in front of a roaring crowd of supporters. “We chose hope over hate, competence over chaos, decency over division. That’s who we are as North Carolinians,” Stein said.
Robinson conceded the race in a speech around the same time, telling supporters he would leave with his “head held high.” He said he would finish his last two months in office as lieutenant governor, before spending time with his wife and grandchildren.
“I’m glad to have run a race that was upright and decent when others around me refused to do so,” Robinson said.
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