NEW CASTLE, NC – Mark Robinson made it to the Sunrise Café in Denver for his last stop of the day. There was a small but excited crowd waiting to meet the guy they hope will be the next governor of North Carolina.
Robinson, who is the Republican Lt. Governor right now, would be the state’s first black governor if he were elected. Josh Stein, the Democratic Attorney General, is running against him. At the start of August, polling site 538 had Stein ahead by as many as 14 points. By the end of the month, Robinson had cut the gap to six points.
As the race gets closer, Robinson has set up a number of meet-and-greets across the state to take his campaign straight to the people who will be voting.
“I’m voting for him because of his values,” said Larry Couch, who lives in Lincolnton and was wearing a hat that said “Mark Robinson for governor.” “He’s a Christian, a Republican, and a supporter of gun rights.” Couch also said that Robinson was a “people person,” and he was genuinely happy when Robinson showed up, saw the hat, and signed it before standing for a picture.
North Carolina and Georgia are two of only 17 states where the Governor and Lt. Governor are chosen separately, not together. Stein has the backing of Roy Cooper, the Democrat who is currently governor. Robinson has been backed by Donald Trump, who was president before. Cooper was originally in the running to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, but he eventually pulled his name because he was worried that Robinson could become the state’s de facto governor while Cooper was running to be Vice President.
Robinson was introduced by Pat Harrigan, the Republican candidate for Congress in North Carolina’s 10th district who has been backed by Trump.
Harig began, “This is the most important election of our lives.” “We need to work together to support President Trump and help Republicans win.” A great many people in this country are beginning to pay attention, Harrigan said, calling Robinson a man who “comes to tell the truth.”
Robinson started his speech by saying bad things about his opponent.
“This race is really easy. Robinson said, “My opponent likes to talk about everything but the facts.” “He loves to talk about things that don’t matter.” He really enjoys talking about what I wrote on Facebook ten years ago.
Robinson said that the problems North Carolina is having now are because of Stein’s policies and the democratically controlled state government. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general in North Carolina, while the Republican Party controls both houses of the state assembly.
“High as hell taxes.” Rules are very strict. The policies Stein pushed for made it so that no one wanted to come here and do business. He hasn’t done anything good for the people of North Carolina as attorney general.
Robinson says that under Stein, the number of rapes, violent crimes, and Fentanyl deaths has gone up.
Robinson said, “He has been a terrible, terrible attorney general, and he will be a terrible governor.” The crowd cheered as he said this.
Robinson went on to say, “The honest truth is that there is a lot of economic inequality in this state.” He talked about how there are more job chances in cities like Raleigh and Charlotte than in the western and rural areas.
“You can make a good living no matter where you live, where you stand, or what your zip code is.” That’s what we want to achieve.
Robinson talked about what he called the “five pillars” of the economy: public safety, public education, health care, infrastructure, and housing. However, he had problems with the way the state and the country handle education policy.
Criticizing Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) should not be taught in schools. Instead, we should teach our kids how to read, write, and do math.
Robinson ended by using a phrase that the Kamala Harris presidential campaign often uses: “We’re not going back.”
We don’t want to make the same mistake with Josh Stein again. Let’s do something different with Mark Robinson.
Fivety people backed Robinson, but not a single one of them was black.