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An explosive report Thursday that North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson made many offensive statements on a porn site's message board has Republicans in the state reeling and Democrats on offense.
Speculation raged throughout much of Thursday of a pending story concerning the GOP firebrand that would be damaging to his candidacy. Robinson issued a preemptive denial shortly before CNN published the story, which described remarks that Robinson made online between 2008 and 2012, that he supported slavery and calling himself a “Black Nazi.”
A few members of North Carolina’s Republican congressional delegation have distanced themselves from Robinson and indicated worries about the allegations.
Rep. Patrick McHenry told The Hill as he walked into the House chamber that his reaction to the allegations is “not good.”
Rep. Richard Hudson, who is the chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, said the reports are “very concerning.”
“My hope is that lieutenant governor can reassure the people of North Carolina that the allegations aren't true,” he said, adding that Robinson should have a chance to demonstrate that they’re false.
“He said they're not true. I think he needs to have the opportunity to explain to the people in North Carolina exactly how these allegations aren't true,” Hudson said.
He said he is not worried about the impact of the story on Republicans running for other offices in North Carolina, and that their polling indicates the GOP is “strong.”
Hudson said Republican Laurie Buckhout is “well positioned” to defeat Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) in one of the closely contested House districts in November.
Democrats meanwhile are seeking to go on the offensive, with House Majority PAC, a super PAC focused on electing Democrats to the House, calling out Buckhout for deleting two posts on X showing her with Robinson.
“Hey does anyone know why @lauriebuckhout just deleted this tweet about Mark Robinson?!?!?!” the super PAC’s communications director CJ Warnke posted.
Punchbowl News reported that Rep. Virginia Foxx said she “hasn’t really followed [Robinson] closely” in response to the CNN report.
Justin Cermol, the communications director for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), responded with a post showing Robinson and Foxx appearing together.
Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.) told The Hill that Republicans throughout the state had “strongly” endorsed Robinson and are “in a thousand pictures” with him, but will now have to decide in the next 24 hours if they will rescind their endorsements.
“I expect many of them will,” he said.
Republicans had already expressed concerns about Robinson’s viability as a candidate given the many controversial and derogatory statements he has made about various groups. But the newest allegations further mire Robinson in controversy with polls already showing him down by double digits.
The X account for Vice President Harris’s campaign has also posted several videos of former President Trump praising Robinson and photos of them together. North Carolina will be a key battleground in the presidential contest, with polls showing Harris and Trump essentially tied.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on the allegations against Robinson.
Robinson has pledged to stay in the race despite the allegations, accusing the Stein campaign of planting a false story and arguing his opponent is “desperate” to shift attention away from substantive issues.
Other comments that Robinson reportedly made on the platform include calling Martin Luther King Jr. a “commie bastard” and “worse than a maggot,” detailing his pornography preferences and recalling peeping on a women's locker room while in high school.
Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell contributed reporting
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