Stein leads Robinson by double digits in NC governor race

North Carolina GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's scandal-plagued campaign continues to flounder, with Democratic Attorney Gen. Josh Stein ahead by double-digits and growing in a pair of new polls out in the key battleground state.

A new Washington Post poll now has Stein ahead 54 percent to Robinson's 38 percent, while a poll from East Carolina University (ECU) has Stein at 50 percent to Robinson's 33 percent.

The latest polls come as North Carolina is reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene but were conducted before the storm, which decimated the western part of the state, leaving towns flattened and flooded. At least 40 people are dead and many remain missing in the state.

Before the storm ravaged the mountainous Asheville area, North Carolina voters — particularly Republicans — were adjusting their positions on Robinson, after a bombshell Sept. 20 CNN report linked Robinson to posts on a pornographic website's message board more than a decade before he entered the political realm.

According to the report, Robinson, who would be North Carolina's first Black governor if elected, claimed to be a "Black Nazi" and expressed support for slavery, among other incendiary and lewd remarks.

Robinson has denied the allegations and called the CNN report “salacious tabloid trash,” but he has faced pressure from other GOP officials to drop out of the race and a campaign staff exodus.

The lieutenant governor is endorsed by former President Trump, but Trump hasn't appeared alongside the candidate since the bombshell report and he's avoided commenting on it.

ECU's poll found support among Republicans for the Trump-backed candidate plummeted 20 percentage points, compared to the same poll conducted a month earlier and before the explosive report.

Polling from the university at the end of August showed 83 percent of Republicans polled said they supported Robinson. Support among Republicans fell to 63 percent in the latest poll.

The poll also found support for Robinson had fallen across voter demographics, including independents, women, men, white voters and Black voters.

Similarly, 8 percent of voters surveyed in The Washington Post poll said they have no opinion or would not vote in the election for governor, including 15 percent of Republicans.

Both polls found Trump and Vice President Harris neck-and-neck and within the margins of error in the presidential race among the swing state's voters, with Trump ahead 49 to Harris's 47 percent in the ECU poll and 50 percent to 48 percent in The Washington Post poll.

The Washington Post poll found motivation to turnout to vote is high across party lines, as 84 percent of Republicans said they are extremely motivated to vote, while 78 percent of Democrats said the same.

The ECU poll surveyed 1,005 registered voters in North Carolina via a random sample through mobile phones and landline phones Sept. 23-26 before Helene caused widespread power and cellphone outages. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.

The Washington Post poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters randomly sampled from a statewide voter database through mobile, landline and online communications. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.