AMAC EXCLUSIVE
With few competitive gubernatorial races on the ballot this November, the Republican Party’s best chance for a flip will be in North Carolina, where current Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson is looking to succeed incumbent Democrat Roy Cooper, who is term-limited.
Robinson won the Republican Party primary in a landslide on March 15, earning nearly 65 percent of the vote. This overwhelming margin reflects the widespread popularity Robinson has enjoyed since his unlikely and meteoric rise to political stardom in 2020. Former President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement of Robinson also likely factored heavily into the outcome.
Currently, Democrat nominee Josh Stein has a slight 1-2 point lead over Robinson in the latest RealClearPolitics average, although some polls give Robinson as much as a four-point edge. Given recent electoral history in the Tarheel State, it seems likely the race will be close one way or another – providing even more incentive for the GOP to give Robinson as much support as possible.
Prior to his campaign for lieutenant governor four years ago, Robinson worked in a furniture manufacturing plant near Greensboro, North Carolina. His rise to fame began in 2018 when he delivered a fiery speech before the Greensboro City Council in support of the Second Amendment. A video of his remarks went viral, and he received a standing ovation from those in attendance.
The clip quickly grabbed the attention of Second Amendment activists and national conservatives. Later that year, he spoke at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, touching off a series of speaking engagements that raised his profile even further.
Two years later, Robinson entered the race for lieutenant governor. Despite the pundit class predicting that Robinson was too inexperienced to win a statewide contest, he cruised to victory in a crowded Republican primary with nine candidates. He then defeated his Democrat opponent in the general election by more than three percentage points, even as Cooper won the governor’s mansion.
In doing so, Robinson became the first black person to become lieutenant governor in North Carolina, and earned more votes than any person in North Carolina history.
But rather than rest on his laurels, Robinson got to work, quickly establishing himself as one of the most effective voices in the conservative movement. He has been unapologetic in his defense of traditional conservative values, including the right to life and the right to bear arms. He starts every event by thanking God and is unabashed about his Christian faith.
Robinson has also been an outspoken and effective critic of transgender ideology, arguing that so-called “gender-affirming care” like hormone blockers and elective surgeries should not be allowed for minors. During one particularly passionate speech earlier this year, Robinson (while correctly predicting that the media would pounce on his remarks) declared, “Here’s something else I’m not supposed to say: Ain’t but 2 genders. 2. Ain’t nothin’ but men and women.”
“You can’t change what God put in you, that DNA,” Robinson continued.
Following Robinson’s primary victory just a few weeks ago, the left, clearly desperate to hold on to the governor’s seat in North Carolina, has quickly moved to slander him as a “conspiracy theorist,” transphobe, sexist, and a host of other epithets.
One of the first attacks was a slew of false headlines suggesting that Robinson wanted to “go back to an America where women couldn’t vote.” Left-wing outlets such as The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, and Rolling Stone all pushed this narrative, which stemmed from a short clip taken out of context from a campaign event back in 2020.
At that event, conservative commentator Candace Owens asked Robinson if he would rather go back to an America “where women couldn’t vote” or an America “where black people were swinging from trees.” Robinson responded that he would go back to the time where women could not vote because “in those days we had people who fought for real social change and they were called Republicans and they are the reason why women can vote today.”
Although perhaps unartfully conveyed, Robinson’s comment was intended to praise Republicans for fighting for women’s suffrage. However, a short clip of him saying he would “like to go back to an American where women couldn’t vote,” taken out of its context, was all the corporate media needed to label him a sexist.
The left has also had a collective meltdown over Robinson’s comments that men who identify as transgender should be arrested for using female-only locker rooms and restrooms. “We’re going to defend women in this state,” Robinson has said. “That means if you’re a man on Friday night and all of a sudden Saturday you feel like a woman and you want to go in the women’s bathroom in the mall, you will be arrested.”
When confronted by the media and faced with pressure campaigns from the left, Robinson has doubled down on sticking to his values. In June 2021, for instance, he referred to pornographic materials in elementary school libraries under the guise of “LGBTQ content” as “filth.” Later that year after a campaign from opponents demanding that he apologize or resign, Robinson defended his statements, again labeling the content as “filth.”.
Thus far in his political career, Robinson has proven his doubters wrong and defied the odds while refusing to compromise his conservative beliefs. In November, North Carolina Republicans are hoping he can do so once again.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
