North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has won the Republican nomination for governor in what is expected to be one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the country in November.
He beat out State Treasurer Dale Folwell and trial attorney Bill Graham for the nomination.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein won the Democratic nomination for governor and will face Robinson in November.
Both candidates would make history in the state if elected. Robinson would be North Carolina’s first black governor, while Stein would be the state’s first Jewish governor.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Robinson at a rally in Greensboro on Saturday, calling Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
But the right-wing conservative firebrand has been a polarizing figure who has come under fire for his past comments about women, Jews, Muslims and members of the LGBTQ community, as well as posts about baseless conspiracy theories.
Before running for lieutenant governor in 2020, Robinson frequently made anti-Semitic posts on Facebook. In one he claimed that the film Black Panther was “created by an agnostic Jew and filmed by satanic Marxists.”
Other publications have included Holocaust denialism. In one he wrote: “This nonsense of disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then sending them to concentration camps is nonsense.”
After the Hamas attack on October 7, Robinson said he supported Israel and denied having been anti-Semitic.
Lt. Governor Robinson spoke to Trump at his rally in Greensboro on Saturday.
Trump endorsed Robinson for governor of North Carolina at a rally in Greensboro on Saturday. He called the Republican who has faced backlash for offensive statements “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has won the Democratic nomination for governor and will face Robinson in November in what is expected to be a highly competitive gubernatorial race.
Robinson has also been condemned for his attacks on the LGBTQ community. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida in 2016, he wrote that homosexuality is “STILL an abominable sin” and that he would “NOT join the “gay pride celebration.”” 49 people were killed in the shooting and more than 50 were injured.
He also suggested that Ellen DeGeneres, who is openly gay, was a “high-ranking demon.”
In posts following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, Robinson called survivors “spoiled, angry, know-it-all KIDS” and “media prosti-tots,” according to a CNN report .
During the 2020 lieutenant governor’s race, Robinson reportedly once described former President Obama as a “useless anti-American atheist” and posted birther memes.
He called Michelle Obama a man, referred to Joy Behar as a “beast” and Congresswoman Maxine Waters as an “old pillow.”
Robinson also posted on Facebook that Muslims “are not ‘immigrants’, they are INVADERS” and stated that they “refuse to assimilate” while “demanding respect they have not earned.”
Abortion is expected to be a major issue in the state, and it’s one Robinson has been trying to avoid. According to a Rolling Stone report last summer, Robinson told a crowd that he doesn’t like to say the “A-word,” but rather he likes to use the word “life.”
Rolling Stone reported that Robinson now avoids using the word “abortion” in his gubernatorial campaign and instead likes to use the word “life.” In the past, Robinson has said that he would like to ban abortion without exceptions, but he has since backed away from that stance.
But in a radio interview early last year, Robinson said that if he had the power and a willing legislature, “they would pass a bill that says you can’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason.”
His campaign told CNN that Robinson has publicly supported legislation that would limit abortion after a heartbeat is detected with protections in situations such as rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Robinson got his political launch in 2018 after a speech he gave during a Greensboro City Council meeting about gun rights went viral. The following year he launched his candidacy for lieutenant governor and won in 2020.
Trump not only called Robinson MLK ‘on steroids’ but also said ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you’re Martin Luther King times two.
But Robinson attacked the civil rights leader, saying in a 2018 podcast that he was a “communist.” He also criticized the Civil Rights Movement as a communist plot to “subvert capitalism.”
North Carolina is a swing state that voted for President Donald Trump in 2020, but also for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited and will leave office in January.
Stein heads into the general election with Cooper’s endorsement and a huge campaign war chest.
He served in the North Carolina Senate before being elected Attorney General in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. He made a name suing the Trump administration during his first term as Attorney General.