Robinson under pressure to withdraw from gubernatorial race

North Carolina Republicans are bracing Thursday morning as word spreads about a damning news story looming regarding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

Sources with direct knowledge have spoken with Carolina Journal on the condition of anonymity and said that Robinson is under pressure from staff and members of the Trump campaign to withdraw from the governor’s race due to the nature of the story, which they say involves activity on adult websites in 2000s.

According to sources, Robinson has resisted withdrawing and privately denies the story.

In an email to Carolina Journal shortly after this story posted, Michael Lonergan, communications director for the Mark Robinson for Governor campaign wrote, “Whomever your sources are here, it is complete fiction.”

Thursday evening is the state deadline to withdraw from the race. The deadline to remove Robinson’s name from the ballot already has passed. There are just four weeks to go until early voting, and absentee ballots are due to go in the mail Friday.

According to the sources, the campaign of Attorney General Josh Stein, Robinson’s opponent in the race for North Carolina’s Executive Mansion, leaked the story to CNN and local Raleigh news outlet, WRAL. It is expected to hit airwaves later on Thursday.

Also according to the anonymous source, earlier this week leaders in the Trump campaign privately told Robinson that he was not welcome at rallies for Trump or vice presidential candidate JD Vance. He was slated to speak at the Vance appearance on Wednesday, but his office announced that Robinson had tested positive for COVID.

WHO WOULD BE LISTED ON YOUR BALLOT?

Should Robinson decide to withdraw from the race, something that Carolina Journal’s sources say he is opposed to at the moment, the North Carolina Republican Party Executive Committee would need to choose a replacement candidate for November.

According to elections expert Andy Jackson of the John Locke Foundation’s Civitas Center for Public Integrity, the deadline to change the name on the ballot has passed under state law. Once the North Carolina State Board of Elections mails the absentee, overseas, and military ballots on Friday, changing the names could run afoul of the 14th Amendment.  Instead, any votes Robinson receives on Nov. 5 would go to the replacement candidate chosen by the NCGOP.

“In other instances when, say a candidate dies before Election Day, the candidate’s name remains on the ballot and the candidate’s widow or widower would get the votes and serve the term,” said Jackson.

Robinson won the Republican primary in March, beating out NC State Treasurer Dale Folwell and businessman Bill Graham.

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that a primary candidate is not disqualified from replacing a candidate of the same party. Rather, the state “sore loser” clause bars a primary candidate from becoming a general election candidate for a different party.