'Divisive' far-right GOP gubernatorial nominee shows no signs of moderation

In the 2022 midterms, Republicans lost gubernatorial races in some key swing states — including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona — by nominating far-right MAGA candidates. But Georgia and New Hampshire, in contrast, reelected GOP governors who are conservative but not far-right or ultra-MAGA.

The lesson for the GOP, many Never Trump conservatives have argued, is that Republicans set themselves up for failure when they nominate extremists in states that aren't deep red. But in 2024, North Carolina Republicans have gone far right by giving their gubernatorial nomination to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — a far-right conspiracy theorist, Donald Trump supporter and Holocaust denier who has attacked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a communist and said that women shouldn't have the right to vote.

In a New York Times article published on March 18, reporters Nick Corasaniti, Maya King and Alexandra Berzon stress that as Robinson enters the general election, he is showing "no sign that he plans to moderate his message."

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"Mr. Robinson's long history of inflammatory statements has generated a torrent of headlines since he became the Republican standard-bearer in this year's most closely watched race for governor," the Times reporters explain. "But underlying his combative proclamations on race, abortion, education and religion is an exceptionally right-wing worldview — with deep roots in modern evangelical Christianity — that would make him one of the most conservative governors in America if elected."

Corasaniti, King and Berzon continue, "Mr. Robinson has telegraphed, often in bombastic terms, how far to the right he would try to push North Carolina, supporting a ban on all abortions once a heartbeat is detected, calling for arresting transgender women if they do not use the bathroom of their sex assigned at birth, and urging the introduction of prayer in schools."

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has slammed Robinson as "bleak and divisive, consumed by spite and hate."

Robinson's strategy, according to the Times reporters, includes a heavy emphasis on fundamentalist evangelical voters.

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While South Carolina is deep red, North Carolina is more of a swing state. Donald Trump defeated President Joe Biden by roughly 12 percent in South Carolina but only by about 1 percent in North Carolina.

"Much like Mr. Trump," Corasaniti, King and Berzon note, "Mr. Robinson has made incendiary remarks a political calling card. He has made comments widely seen as antisemitic. He once quoted Adolf Hitler on Facebook. He described the Parkland school shooting survivors who pushed for gun control as 'spoiled, angry, know-it-all children.'"

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Read The New York Times' full report at this link (subscription required).