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The gubernatorial candidate vows to continue the race after reports of racial and sexual comments

2024-09-20 21:58:56, Kosova & Bota CNA

The gubernatorial candidate vows to continue the race after reports of racial

North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson said Thursday he will stay in the race despite a CNN report that he had posted racially and sexually explicit comments on an online messaging network, saying he the "banal lies" of the tabloid magazine type will not force him to leave the race.

Currently serving as lieutenant governor, Mr. Robinson convincingly won the March Republican primary for governor. Polls show a lead for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein, who is currently the attorney general.

"We will continue the race and we intend to win," Mr. Robinson said in a video post on the X network. "We know that with your help we will achieve our goal." In the posted video, he referred to the CNN news, which had not yet been published, but did not provide details.

"Let me assure you, the things you will see on that news are not the words of Mark Robinson," he said. "You know how I speak and you know my character."

CNN is talking about a series of racial and sexual comments it says were posted more than a decade ago by Mr. Robinson on an Internet pornographic message board.

According to CNN, Mr. Robinson, who could become North Carolina's first black governor, posted racial slurs against late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on the pornographic site's messaging network. and on one occasion he called himself a "black Nazi". The report from the CNN network also talks about a lot of sexual and vulgar comments.

The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm that the alleged comments were written and posted by Mr. Robinson.

CNN said it had matched the account details on the porn site with Mr Robinson's other online accounts by comparing his username, a known email address and his full name.

CNN reported that details written by the account user matched Mr. Robinson's age, length of marriage and other biographical information. He also compared the phrases used by him on the Twitter network with the expressions posted by the account on the porn site.

Many media outlets have meanwhile reported on a speech by Mr Robinson in 2021 at a church where he used the word "filth" when talking about homosexuals and transgender people.

His opponent, Democrat Josh Stein, says Mr. Robinson's history of inflammatory comments make him an extreme figure to run the state of North Carolina.

Analysts say Republican Robinson's campaign woes could hurt former President Donald Trump's efforts to win the battleground state's 16 electoral votes and the state's other Republican candidates.

The latest polls show that Vice President Harris and Mr. Trump enjoy nearly equal support, while Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein has a roughly 10% lead over Republican Robinson.

Josh Stein and his allies have repeatedly reposted a 2019 Facebook post in which Mr. Robinson argued that abortion in America is about “killing the baby because the mother was not responsible enough to keep it.” the dress worn".

Mr. Stein's campaign team said in a statement that "the people of North Carolina already know that Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be Governor."

State law says a gubernatorial candidate can withdraw as a candidate no later than one day before the first absentee ballots are distributed, which are initially sent to military service members and out-of-state voters. That deadline expired on Thursday.

Former President Trump has often expressed his support for Mr. Robinson, who has been seen as an increasingly influential politician in his party. He is known for his fiery speeches and fiery rhetoric. Before the March election, Mr. Trump, at a rally in Greensboro, praised his oratorical skills by comparing him to Martin Luther King.

Mr. Trump's campaign team appears to be distancing itself from Mr. Robinson as the CNN announcement spreads. In a statement to The Associated Press, Mr. Trump's team spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said the Republican nominee "is focused on winning the race for the White House and saving this country," calling North Carolina "a vital part of that the plan".

Ms. Leavitt went on to compare former President Trump's economic achievements to that of Democratic rival Harris, without mentioning Mr. Robinson by name. She also did not respond to questions about whether he would appear alongside Mr. Trump at a campaign rally scheduled for Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina, or whether he had been invited to do so.

A spokesman for Ms Harris' team, Ammar Moussa, wrote on social media platform X that "Donald Trump has a problem with the name Mark Robinson". He also shared a photo of the two together.

The North Carolina Republican Party defended Mr. Robinson in a statement on the social network X, saying that despite his denial of the CNN report, it would not "stop the left from trying to demonize him through personal attacks ". The party pointed to economic and immigration policies as the dominant election issues that North Carolinians will care about most.

"The left needs this election to be a personality contest, not a policy contest, because if voters focus on politics, Republicans win on Election Day," the Republican Party said.

Scott Lassiter, the Republican candidate for state Senate in a battleground district, called on Mr. Robinson to "pause his campaign to allow a quality candidate to finish this race."

Ed Broyhill, a member of the Republican National Committee in North Carolina, said he spoke with Mr. Robinson on Thursday afternoon and still supports him as the party's nominee. In an interview, Mr. Broyhill suggested that the online data may have been fabricated.

"It seems like a dirty trick to me," he said.

Lawmaker Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the Republican Party's congressional campaign committee, told reporters that what was reported in the CNN article was "disturbing." Mr. Robinson, he said, needs to make some clarifications in his state.

Mr. Robinson, 56, was elected to his current position in 2020. He says he had a poor childhood, working jobs that were later closed, which he blames on the U.S. Free Trade Agreement. North (NAFTA). His four-minute speech to the Greensboro City Council, advocating gun rights and lamenting the "demonization" of police officers, went viral. This speech secured him a position on the board of the National Rifle Association and popularity among conservative voters./ VOA