Top aides quit Republican Mark Robinson’s campaign for governor
Four top aides to North Carolina’s embattled Republican candidate for governor Mark Robinson have resigned in the wake of a series of controversies.
Multiple staffers on North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign have stepped down after a CNN report embroiled the Republican governor nominee in a scandal.
Robinson was the focus of a CNN investigation published Thursday that detailed inflammatory comments he reportedly made on a pornography website message board more than a decade ago. The reported comments were salacious, as he called himself a “black NAZI,” a “perv” and condoned slavery. Robinson denied authoring the comments in an interview with CNN.
On Sunday, the campaign announced that top adviser Conrad Pogorzelski, campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk have stepped down from their roles.
Their departure, along with others, leaves the campaign with a small staff consisting of just two spokespeople and a bodyguard, North Carolina public radio station WUNC reported.
“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. I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days,” Robinson said in a statement shared with USA TODAY.
Mark Robinson: NC gubernatorial candidate attends Fayetteville Motor Speedway, first appearance since CNN report
Robinson scandal bleeds into 2024 presidential campaign
The deadline for Robinson to be taken off the ballot has passed, and he insists he is poised to win, despite polls showing he lagged Democratic opponent Josh Stein before the CNN investigation.
On Friday, Democrats launched ads that highlighted Trump’s ties to Robinson. Trump has endorsed the candidate in the past.
Since the scandal broke, Trump has dodged questions about Robinson, saying in a statement the campaign is focused on winning the state and leaving Robinson entirely out of the programming at a campaign rally over the weekend.
North Carolina is a key battleground state in the 2024 election. A Democrat hasn’t won the state since 2008, but Trump beat Joe Biden by just 50.1% to 48.7% in 2020. While presidential races can typically mobilize voters to sway down-ballot races, some have wondered if the Robinson scandal could hurt Trump’s chances in the Tar Heel State.
Contributing: David Jackson
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66f17389244348f1ab876926d5fe40a3&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.desmoinesregister.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F2024%2F09%2F23%2Fmark-robinson-north-carolina-governor-campaign-staff%2F75345289007%2F&c=15270405249126473521&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-23 02:32:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.