Mark Robinson’s Campaign Is Collapsing as His Staffers Ditch Him
In the wake of his porn website scandal, North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s campaign is quickly falling apart. Almost all of his staff members resigned Sunday night, including four senior staffers: his campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier, deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk, and campaign consultant Conrad Pogorzelski III, according to a statement from the campaign. Robinson has ignored calls from his fellow Republicans to drop out of the race, and the deadline for withdrawing was Thursday. While Donald Trump is still endorsing him, neither the former president nor his running mate, J.D. Vance, will be appearing at any future rallies with Robinson.In a statement, Robinson, who is also North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, tried to downplay the staff departures. “I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors,” Robinson said. “I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days.”But who is going to work for Robinson’s staff after hearing about his latest scandal? On Thursday, CNN revealed that he commented on a pornography website’s message board about wanting to own slaves, enjoying transgender porn, and peeping in women’s locker rooms. He even called himself a “Black Nazi” in a comment on the Nude Africa website.It seems to be the last straw for many Republicans, as Robinson’s previous scandals, while heinous in their own light, didn’t prompt so many calls for him to drop out of the race. Previously, he has minimized the horrors of the Holocaust, said the movie Black Panther was a plot by a “satanic marxist” to pull “shekels” out of Black audiences, likened women getting abortions to murderers, and called gay people “filth” and “maggots.”Perhaps now Republicans are not only worried about losing the North Carolina governorship, but also the state’s electoral votes in the presidential election. The latest polls show Trump and Kamala Harris nearly deadlocked in a state that voted for the Republican in 2020. With Robinson staying in the race, Democrats might have a shot at a state that was once thought out of reach. This story has been updated.
In the wake of his porn website scandal, North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s campaign is quickly falling apart.
Almost all of his staff members resigned Sunday night, including four senior staffers: his campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier, deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk, and campaign consultant Conrad Pogorzelski III, according to a statement from the campaign. 
Robinson has ignored calls from his fellow Republicans to drop out of the race, and the deadline for withdrawing was Thursday. While Donald Trump is still endorsing him, neither the former president nor his running mate, J.D. Vance, will be appearing at any future rallies with Robinson.
In a statement, Robinson, who is also North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, tried to downplay the staff departures.
“I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors,” Robinson said. “I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days.”
But who is going to work for Robinson’s staff after hearing about his latest scandal? On Thursday, CNN revealed that he commented on a pornography website’s message board about wanting to own slaves, enjoying transgender porn, and peeping in women’s locker rooms. He even called himself a “Black Nazi” in a comment on the Nude Africa website.
It seems to be the last straw for many Republicans, as Robinson’s previous scandals, while heinous in their own light, didn’t prompt so many calls for him to drop out of the race. Previously, he has minimized the horrors of the Holocaust, said the movie Black Panther was a plot by a “satanic marxist” to pull “shekels” out of Black audiences, likened women getting abortions to murderers, and called gay people “filth” and “maggots.”
Perhaps now Republicans are not only worried about losing the North Carolina governorship, but also the state’s electoral votes in the presidential election. The latest polls show Trump and Kamala Harris nearly deadlocked in a state that voted for the Republican in 2020. With Robinson staying in the race, Democrats might have a shot at a state that was once thought out of reach.
This story has been updated.
