Mark Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor who has a history of making inflammatory comments and has said he would abolish abortion rights, has won the state’s Republican nomination for governor.
Robinson, North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor, will face Democrat Josh Stein, the state attorney general, in what’s expected to be a close and hotly contested race in November. Robinson and Stein are attempting to succeed the current Democratic governor Roy Cooper, who is term limited.
Because Republicans already control North Carolina’s legislature, a Robinson victory would give them a trifecta and unilateral control over policymaking in a critical battleground state.