The Republican Party has confirmed it is pulling financial support for Trump-backed North Carolina gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Robinson’s campaign has been in steep decline since revelations surfaced that he allegedly left racist comments on a porn website’s message board. Following calls from North Carolina Republicans for him to step down and the resignation of several high-ranking staffers – including his campaign manager and deputy campaign manager – Robinson has now lost the financial backing of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).
RGA spokesperson Courtney Alexander told National Review (NR), “We don’t comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what’s public – our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made.”
The RGA’s spending update follows a CNN report Thursday afternoon connecting Robinsons’s email to comments on a porn-site messaging board, where he allegedly called himself a “black Nazi” and made other unsavory sexual and race-related comments years before he was elected to statewide office. Robinson has denied the allegations, as NR first reported last Thursday.
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The news comes as the Robinson campaign continues to bleed staff. On Sunday, Robinson’s campaign sent out a press release announcing that four employees resigned from his campaign: general consultant Conrad Pogorzelski III, campaign manager Christopher Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier, and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk.
“I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors,” Robinson said in a press release. “An announcement of new incoming staff members will be forthcoming from the campaign soon.”
Four additional staffers not listed in that press release have also resigned, according to Pogorzelski, Robinson’s former general consultant. “The reports are true that I, along with others from the campaign have left of our own accord,” he said in a text message to National Review that listed several other staff departures, including deputy finance director Caroline Winchester, political director John Kontoulas, political director Jackson Lohrer, and director of operations Patrick Riley.
Even though North Carolina was seen as one of the RGA’s top pickup opportunities this election cycle, public polling had shown that Robinson was trailing Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein.
A Cook Political Report and BSG survey released on Aug. 15 revealed that Stein held a seven-point lead over Robinson. When undecided voters were included, Stein’s lead increased by another point. This marked a significant shift from May when polling showed the race tied.
As of Friday, Trump had no plans to withdraw his endorsement of Robinson, but he did not mention him once at a rally in North Carolina over the weekend.
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Mark Robinson should have toned it down big-time, several months ago. I am now going Republican in every slot except the Governor of NC. MR needs to put a gag in place and take measure of his political future …
Makes sense