North Carolina’s Mark Robinson expected to announce gubernatorial campaign in April
Ryan King
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Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC) is widely expected to announce a campaign for governor next month, boosting Republican hopes of recapturing North Carolina’s governor mansion.
Robinson’s team teased a “major rally and announcement” on April 22 located at Alamance County’s Ace Speedway, which emerged as a key flashpoint during the pandemic for permitting races without social distancing or masks in May 2020. The event is expected to serve as his campaign launch.
NORTH CAROLINA LT. GOV. MARK ROBINSON VOICES REGRET FOR ABORTION DECISION
Having been seen as a rising star in the Old North State, Robinson has long dropped hints of his intentions to vie for governor. Incumbent Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) is term-limited and therefore cannot run for reelection.
Should he run and win, Robinson will become the first black governor in the state’s history. His political ambitions caught fire after a video of testimony he gave about firearms went viral in 2018, a year before he announced his lieutenant governor campaign. At the time of the viral testimony, Robinson was a factory worker.
Cooper has long foiled the state’s Republican legislature on a host of issues since ascending to the governor’s office in 2017.
Back in January, Attorney General Josh Stein officially debuted his campaign for governor, vowing to fight back against politicians who traffic in “division, ignite hate and fan the flames of bigotry.” Stein has taken direct aim at Robinson since his campaign commencement.
“Mark Robinson is an extremist and conspiracy theorist who would drag our state backward. #RobinsonIsWrong,” he tweeted.
https://twitter.com/JoshStein_/status/1638595467767423009
The two are widely seen as front-runners in the contest.
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North Carolina is also subject to an ongoing court squabble over its congressional maps. Republicans recently captured the state Supreme Court in the midterm elections, giving the GOP hope that the party can reverse its apportionment losses.
The Washington Examiner contacted a Robinson consultant for comment.