(NewsNation) — The political experts have never given North Carolina Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson much of a chance in his race for the Governor’s mansion. Recent polls have him down by as much as 11% to Democrat Josh Stein.
But Robinson’s chances may be sinking even lower on the heels of two stories concerning past and present online activity. And some Republicans now worry that voter apathy towards Robinson might hurt Donald Trump’s chances in North Carolina.
“Trump is still up by one (percent), but it has to be a drag on the Trump ticket. There’s no question,” said former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
And, said Mulvaney on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” the GOP is stuck with Robinson.
“The party’s not pushing to get him off the ballot because it’s simply too late,” he said. North Carolina elections officials will begin mailing ballots to military personnel and North Carolinians living overseas on Friday.
More than a decade ago, Robinson posted racist remarks on social media, describing himself as a “black NAZI!”
He also expressed support for reinstating slavery, according to the report from CNN.
Hours later Thursday, Politico reported that an email address belonging to Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, the dating website for married people. Politico said that an adviser to Robinson confirmed that the address belonged to the lieutenant governor, who is married.
“It’s the hypocrisy, stupid,” Geraldo Rivera told “Dan Abrams Live. “You cannot be so preachy when you have that stuff in your background.”
Scottie Nell Hughes, a former Trump campaign surrogate, said she hopes the allegations aren’t true for the sake of Robinson’s marriage. But she’s also worried about the effect on Trump’s support in North Carolina, which he won in 2020 by fewer than 2%.
“I don’t think this is necessarily going to disenfranchise people, but it’s definitely going to be a lot of talk for the next six weeks,” she said.
Larry Sabato, director of The Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the reports lead to a near-instant shift in the center’s rating of the North Carolina governor’s race.
“The Crystal Ball team has just met in emergency session, and in the fastest rating change in our history, we are moving NC GOVERNOR from Lean D to LIKELY D,” Sabato posted on X.
Rivera said the Robinson stories could suppress GOP turnout in the Tar Heel State, and that could have national implications.
“If Republicans stay home because they don’t want to vote for this hypocrite, then it could swing the state. It could swing the country.”
The North Carolina Republican Party Thursday released a statement defending Robinson.
“Mark Robinson has categorically denied the allegations made by CNN but that won’t stop the Left from trying to demonize him via personal attacks. The Left needs the election to be a personality contest, not a policy contest because if voters are focused on policy, Republicans win on Election Day,” the statement said.