North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) criticized Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s fitness for office in an interview Monday.
“Mark Robinson has revealed himself to be absolutely unfit to be governor, unacceptable for any elected position,” Stein said in the interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on her show. “I don’t care what office it is, but let alone governor.”
“And this was true before last week’s story broke, and yet, practically every Republican running for office in the legislature and above in North Carolina have endorsed him,” Stein added.
Stein and Robinson are battling it out for the governorship of the Tar Heel State.
A bombshell report on Robinson from CNN last week shook up the race when it revealed inflammatory comments that he reportedly made on a pornography website’s message board more than 10 years ago. Among them, he called himself a “black NAZI.”
“Former President Trump, has endorsed him,” Stein said in his MSNBC interview. “Not a single Republican in North Carolina has rescinded his or her endorsement of Mark Robinson.”
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) has indicated that he will not vote for Robinson. When the senator was recently asked about voting for Robinson, he declined to say specifically but also noted he won’t be campaigning with him.
A Sunday release from Robinson’s campaign stated that key aides, such as his campaign manager and a finance director, had “stepped down from their roles.”
“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,” Robinson said in the release. “I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days.”
The Hill has reached out to the North Carolina Republican Party, the Trump campaign and the Robinson campaign.