CHARLOTTE — North Carolina‘s scandal-plagued Republican gubernatorial candidate doesn’t appear to be dragging down former President Donald Trump at the ballot box.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC) refused to drop out of the 2024 election after reports surfaced detailing Robinson’s history of posting vulgar, anti-Semitic comments on pornographic websites. Robinson had previously been a lightning rod for controversy following a string of inflammatory comments made throughout his political career.
Early voting began in the state on Oct. 17, and while North Carolina Republican voters seem solid in their backing of Trump, a sizable number of early voters in Mecklenburg County, which encompasses the greater Charlotte metropolitan area, told the Washington Examiner they had split their tickets and voted for Robinson’s opponent, Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein.
Jackie Pitts of SouthPark, a suburb of Charlotte, has voted for Trump in every election since 2016, including this cycle, but she said Robinson’s scandals led her to vote for Stein on Tuesday.
“My son-in-law told me he was a moderate, and he had a fundraiser for him,” she explained. “It’s a mess.”
Linda Gillespie, another SouthPark resident, similarly split her ticket for Trump and Stein but claimed that she did so because she agreed with Stein’s policies and acknowledged his record.
“I read what he’s done, and yeah, I agree with his policies on what he’s done,” she claimed. “I want to vote for the best candidate. That’s why I look at it. So whether they’re Democrat or Republican, it’s just — the big thing is just doing the research.”
Still, some Republicans appeared unperturbed by Robinson’s sordid past.
John DeBerry, who lives in Matthews just southeast of downtown, did vote all Republican but told the Washington Examiner he has “concerns” about Robinson.
“He may have questionable character, but at the end of the day, everybody needs to be on the same page to get some real changes done,” he stated. “And I want as many Republicans in there so they can control the House and the Senate, and we can actually make some real changes.”
“It was tough, but I went straight ticket,” added I.T. professional J.W. Sams.
Trump and North Carolina Republicans have held Robinson at arm’s length since he refused to end his candidacy. State party officials removed Robinson from some voter education literature before early voting began earlier this month, though his yard signs remain on display across the state.
Robinson did not campaign alongside Trump at any of his events in North Carolina this week, and his last appearance with Trump came back in August.
Furthermore, the former president dodged answering Monday when asked if he would still press voters to cast ballots for the Republican gubernatorial candidate.
“I’m not familiar with the state of the race right now,” he told reporters. “I haven’t seen it.
Republican strategists had previously voiced concerns to the Washington Examiner about Trump’s endorsement of Robinson this spring.
“This is Herschel Walker all over again,” one veteran Republican operative bemoaned. “We can’t just keep picking candidates because they brownnose President Trump.”
With less than two weeks out until Election Day, Trump is polling far ahead of Robinson.
The former president leads Vice President Kamala Harris by 2.5 points, while Robinson trails Stein by more than 15 points, in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Trump held four events in North Carolina this week, including rallies in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville and a visit to Asheville, which is still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
Harris isn’t visiting North Carolina herself this week, but her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), will hold a rally in Wilmington on Thursday.
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The last time North Carolina went blue in a presidential election was for former President Barack Obama in 2008, and he’ll hold his own rally backing Harris in Charlotte on Friday.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Trump and Robinson campaigns for comment.