Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Politics

Republicans in N.C. bracing for damaging story on gubernatorial candidate

Republicans in North Carolina were bracing Thursday for what some anticipated would be a damaging CNN story on Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, with less than two months before the election, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

“For the sake of the party, for the sake of our down-ballot races … and for the sake of Donald Trump’s victory in North Carolina, I think Mark Robinson needs to drop out” if the report is as damaging as Republicans fear, said Jonathan Bridges, who managed the campaign of one of Robinson’s rivals in the GOP primary, former congressman Mark Walker.

Few seemed to know what the new information would entail, but Republican officials, including some working on behalf of Trump’s presidential campaign, were pressuring Robinson to withdraw from the race, according to multiple political professionals in the state who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.

“[Republican]establishment is reeling and trying to figure out what to do,” one political operative in the state said in a text message. “Robinson is defiant and says he’s staying in.”

A Trump campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly said the campaign is not reaching out directly to Robinson to try to encourage him to step aside.

Michael Lonergan, a spokesman for the Robinson campaign, said in an email that it was “complete fiction” that Robinson was under pressure to drop out of the race. Lonergan later said in a text message that Robinson is “most certainly not” dropping out.

A spokesperson for CNN did not respond to a request for comment about a possible upcoming report.

Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, is running against Democrat Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general. They are vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in a state that is also hotly contested in the presidential race.

Robinson’s campaign has been weighted by his long history of incendiary rhetoric, including about a top issue this election cycle, abortion.

More recently, though, he has faced increased scrutiny over his personal life. The Assembly, a North Carolina news outlet, reported this month that he regularly visited porn shops in Greensboro in the 1990s and 2000s, long after he said he became a devoted Christian. Robinson’s campaign called the Assembly story “complete fiction.”

Even if Robinson were to withdraw from the governor’s race Thursday, it is probably too late to remove his name from the ballot, because absentee ballots have already been printed, said Karen Brinson Bell, who leads the State Board of Elections.

An additional complication, she said, is that overseas and military ballots are scheduled to go out Friday, as required by federal law. It would take about two weeks and cost more than $1 million to reprint ballots, Bell said.

“As the chief election officer, I know where we are in this process,” Bell said. “To remove a name from the ballot at this time would be an insurmountable hurdle.”

Bell noted that she thought it was too late to take independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name off the ballot when he requested that several weeks ago, but she was overruled by state courts.

If Robinson does withdraw, the state Republican Party would have the ability to nominate a new candidate, and votes for Robinson would go to that individual, Bell said. But Robinson’s name would remain on the ballot, she said.

Robinson’s campaign has had enthusiastic support from Trump, who praised Robinson this year as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

But Robinson canceled an appearance with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in North Carolina this week, and Vance didn’t mention him.

Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Robinson while campaigning in the state, including during events there last week.

Robinson experienced a quick rise in politics after a video went viral of him advocating against gun control at a Greensboro City Council meeting in 2018. He launched a campaign for lieutenant governor the following year and won in a crowded GOP primary.

This post appeared first on washingtonpost.com

    You May Also Like

    Politics

    When George Santos mentioned his family during his congressional campaign, the New York Republican often reflected on the work ethic and strength of his...

    Business

    Two of Sam Bankman-Fried’s top business partners — a co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the former CEO of the hedge fund Alameda...

    Sports

    Kicker Alejandro Mata is following former Tigers coach Deion Sanders to Colorado. ‘Thankful to be committed and signed to the University of Colorado,’ Marta wrote on...

    Stocks

    SPX Monitoring Purposes: Sold long SPX 1/27/23 at 4070.56 = Gain 6.51%; Long on 12/20/22 at 3821.62. The top window is the cumulative GDX...

    Disclaimer: SecretCharts.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 SecretCharts.com | All Rights Reserved