Robinson wins GOP primary race for NC governor
Mark Robinson has won the Republican primary for North Carolina governor.
Robinson has overwhelmingly led in the polls and in donor support, due in large part to his strong support among evangelical Christians who make up a large percentage of Republican primary voters. Before a crowd of cheering supporters on Tuesday in Greensboro, Robinson told his story of growing up in poverty with a single mom, and continuing to struggle financially for much of his adult life, before the 2020 election made him a star in the burgeoning conservative populist movement.
"I've got guys out here that are not my blood brothers, but are practically my spiritual brothers," Robinson said in his victory speech. "They've seen the days of poverty. They've seen the days of hunger. They've seen the days of struggle. But like North Carolina herself, we've risen past that to see a better day."
Robinson becomes the first Black gubernatorial nominee in North Carolina from either major political party. He faces off against Josh Stein.
Both primaries will determine who’s on the ballot in November competing to replace Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is not running again due to term limits.
Former Republican President Donald Trump endorsed Robinson at a rally Saturday, in Robinson’s hometown of Greensboro, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids” — a reference to the Civil Rights leader who Robinson has criticized as a communist agitator.
Robinson also has the endorsement of one of North Carolina’s two U.S. senators, Sen. Ted Budd. The other, Sen. Thom Tillis, endorsed Graham.
Folwell and Graham had made some gains in recent polls, after each put over $1 million of their own money into their campaigns and focused on their own business success. They also targeted Robinson’s litany of financial problems and long history of inflammatory statements about women, Jews and others.
Their efforts appear to have done little to harm Robinson’s popularity among conservative voters. But some party insiders worry about turning off independent or undecided voters if Robinson is the party’s nominee — especially since the election for governor is expected to be close in November.
Graham slammed Robinson in a statement Tuesday after the race was called, saying he's concerned for the future of the GOP if Robinson is the nominee.
"Mark Robinson is an unelectable candidate in the general election in North Carolina, and he puts a conservative future at risk for everyone, from the courthouse to the White House," Graham wrote, adding: "North Carolina’s conservative future should be one where obstacles are seen as opportunities, division is replaced by dedication to a bright future for our children and grandchildren, and hate is replaced with hope."
Robinson brushed aside the critiques that he's too extreme for the average North Carolinian, which Stein also lobbed in his own victory speech Tuesday.
"We were able to withstand withering attacks from our opponents, all of which were baseless," Robinson said. "We firmly stand by what we believe in, who we are."
Folwell and Graham had tried touting themselves as having the best chance to win the general election, hoping conservative voters would be pragmatic at the polls. North Carolina Republicans haven't occupied the governor's mansion since 2016, and there have only been a handful of North Carolina Republican governors in modern history.
A former factory worker, Robinson political rise began in 2018 on the back of a viral video of a passionate speech he made about gun rights, at a city council meeting in his hometown of Greensboro. He won the race for lieutenant governor in 2020, becoming the first Black Republican to win any major political office in North Carolina since Reconstruction.
Robinson declined to be interviewed about the GOP primary; he also didn’t participate in any of the debates held over the past several months.
On Feb. 22 at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Robinson blamed the media for casting him and his comments in a negative light.
"When I hear a politician, an elected official, say, ‘Well, you know, I don't want to speak about that issue because it might affect my reelection campaign,’ I have no use for you," Robinson told the crowd. "You stand on the shoulders of young men and women who, when it was time to face down the enemy, were willing to give their lives for you. You stand as a coward."
Besides the winners of the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian gubernatorial primaries, voters in November will also see Green Party nominee Wayne Turner on their ballots.
