LEILA FADEL, HOST:
North Carolina's Republican candidate for governor has a history of inflammatory comments. Now he's denying some new ones that have come to light. CNN is reporting that Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson posted racist, homophobic and sexually explicit things on a pornographic website years ago. Robinson was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who's in a tight race with Vice President Kamala Harris for the state. So will he stay in the race? We're joined by Colin Campbell from member station WUNC in Raleigh to talk about this. Hey, Colin.
COLIN CAMPBELL, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: Now, I know NPR hasn't confirmed these comments independently, but tell us about what is being reported about what Robinson allegedly did.
CAMPBELL: Yes. So CNN reports that Robinson repeatedly posted on an online pornography forum more than a decade ago. This was before he got into politics. The report says the commenter used his email address and some of his personal information. The comments in the report were misogynistic, homophobic and racist, with one comment even calling for slavery to be reinstated. Even before the story was posted by CNN, Robinson himself posted a video denying that the comments were his.
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MARK ROBINSON: Those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character and you know that I had been completely transparent in this race and before.
CAMPBELL: But Robinson - who's African American - has made inflammatory statements in the past, as you mentioned, both have been on Facebook and in his campaign speeches. He said women seeking abortion should have kept their skirts down. He's used the word filth to describe gay people. And he's had some violent rhetoric saying that, quote, "some folks need killing."
FADEL: Yeah. I read some of those comments from the commenter, including claiming things like, I'm a Black Nazi and a perv. How have Democrats and Republicans in North Carolina reacted so far?
CAMPBELL: His opponent, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, says he's unfit to be governor. The Harris campaign put out photos of former President Donald Trump posing with Robinson, using the caption best friends. A Republican state Senate candidate has called for him to suspend his campaign. Republican U.S. Senator Ted Budd was quoted in local media saying that Robinson needs to prove the posts didn't come from him. And the state Republican Party tweeted their support for Robinson last night, saying his opponents are trying to demonize him.
FADEL: And what about Donald Trump?
CAMPBELL: So we haven't heard anything yet from Trump, whose endorsement was part of what helped Robinson win the primary back in March. He even compared him to Martin Luther King at the time. The former president is scheduled to hold a rally here in North Carolina this weekend, so we'll see if he makes any comments or appears with Robinson at the time.
FADEL: And this is an important race - a swing state. What's the outlook?
CAMPBELL: So the first ballots are supposed to be mailed out today. Robinson's name is still going to be on them. And even if Republican leaders replaced him with a different candidate, it's likely that person's name probably wouldn't appear on the ballots. Even before the CNN report, Robinson was behind by about 10 points in some polls here, even as the polls are showing a tied presidential race for North Carolina. And that's prompting some Republicans, like former Trump's chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, to question whether Robinson's campaign could lower Republican enthusiasm in a state that Trump really needs to win. The former president's 2020 victory was pretty narrow here.
FADEL: That's Colin Campbell of member station WUNC. Thank you, Colin.
CAMPBELL: Thanks, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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