Inside the Chaos of North Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor’s Campaign

North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, embroiled in a nationwide scandal, has a new campaign manager after a CNN investigation found he posted racist and lewd comments on a pornographic online forum.

In its report, CNN linked the candidate to an account on the pornographic website Nude Africa through similar demographic information and writing style shared there and on his known social media profiles. The long list of comments from 2008 to 2012 includes a user condoning slavery and describing himself as a “black NAZI!”

The report also accused Robinson of publicly saying transgender people should be arrested for using the bathroom of their choice, of enjoying watching transgender pornography and of telling a story about “peeking” into a shower at a women’s gym when he was a teenager.

In a Facebook video and a statement to USA TODAY, his campaign denied that Robinson authored the tweets and claimed, without evidence, that the story was broken by his Democratic opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.

Robinson remains in the race

Despite harsh criticism, Robinson promised he would not withdraw from the governor’s race.

“I will tell you the things you’re going to see in this story are not Mark Robinson,” he said in a Facebook video posted Thursday. “We’re in this race. We’re in this race to win.”

In a statement to USA TODAY, Stein’s campaign said, “Josh remains focused on winning this campaign so that together we can build a safer, stronger North Carolina for all.”

Before CNN released its report, polls showed Stein already ahead of Robinson. After the report was released, the political website Elections Daily changed its forecast for the North Carolina governor’s race from “leaning Democratic” to “safely Democratic.”

Controversy spills over into presidential race

Beyond the turmoil surrounding her own reelection campaign, the alleged comments by the Tar Heel state lieutenant governor have given Kamala Harris’ campaign a new dimension in its fight against Donald Trump, who endorsed Robinson in March.

Harris’ campaign responded quickly to CNN’s reporting, releasing a video on social media in which Trump and Robinson were mockingly portrayed as “best friends” and highlighting Trump’s earlier comments in which he called the lieutenant governor “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

Trump avoided mentioning Robinson by name and did not mention the gubernatorial race at all during a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday, two days after CNN reported the story.

Harris’ campaign confirmed that the Democratic Party will run billboard and television ads linking the former president to Robinson, hoping to weaken Trump’s support in North Carolina, which could affect the outcome of the presidential election.

Robinson’s campaign turnover

Many members of Robinson’s campaign staff resigned in the wake of the scandal.

On Sunday, Robinson’s campaign confirmed that its campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk, finance director Heather Whillier and top adviser Conrad Pogorzelski had resigned from their positions.

“I appreciate the efforts of those team members who made the difficult decision to step away from the campaign and wish them well in their future endeavors. I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days,” Robinson said in a statement shared with USA TODAY.

Later that evening, Jack Burkman announced that he would take over as Robinson’s campaign manager. Burkman is a Republican lobbyist and conspiracy theorist convicted of wire fraud and known for his role in fabricating sexual harassment allegations against former FBI Director Robert Mueller and others.

Kinsey Crowley assisted in the preparation of this article. Rachel Barber is a 2024 USA TODAY Election Fellow focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_