Mark Robinson campaign staffers resign en masse, following CNN report

Several top staffers and fundraisers for Mark Robinson's gubernatorial campaign have quit, current and former campaign members said Sunday.

The North Carolina Republican Party nominee for governor is facing increased pressure and skepticism from members of his party after a recent report by CNN alleging that he made lewd, racist and pro-Hitler comments on a pornographic website's messaging board.

Robinson, the state’s sitting lieutenant governor, has denied the allegations made in the report. Several top North Carolina Republicans have since called on Robinson to prove the allegations are false; others called on him to quit the race altogether.

Pressure had been mounting on Robinson in recent weeks, when some Republicans saw his poor polling numbers as a potential drag on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's chances of winning North Carolina’s crucial 16 electoral votes. A WRAL News Poll in early September found the presidential race statistically tied, but Robinson trailing Democratic opponent Josh Stein by double digits.

During a visit to Wilmington on Saturday, Trump — who until recently frequently praised Robinson from the stage at rallies in the state — didn’t even mention the candidate he had endorsed and frequently compared to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

What happens if Mark Robinson drops out of race for NC governor?

Robinson spokesman Mike Lonergan wrote Sunday in a news release that Robinson's campaign manager and deputy campaign manager, Chris Rodriguez and Jason Rizk, had stepped down from those roles.

So did Heather Whillier, a prominent GOP fundraiser who was Robinson's finance director, and Conrad Pogorzelski, the campaign's senior advisor who was also a key part of Robinson's history-making 2020 campaign, which Robinson won to become the state’s first Black lieutenant governor.

"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 a written statement.

Lonergan didn't respond to a request for additional information. Pogorzelski confirmed the news when reached Sunday.

“The reports are true that I, along with others from the campaign have left of our own accord,” he said in a text message, adding in the names of several more staffers who he said also quit but who weren’t listed in Robinson’s press release.

As of just a few months ago, Robinson’s campaign had spent more on securing the services of Whillier and Pogorzelski than it had on any ad campaign or other expense. Of the $9 million his campaign had spent as of the end of June, $3.3 million went to firms run by the two of them, according to state campaign finance records.

'Character assasination'

Robinson quickly hit the campaign trail shortly after the report. On Saturday, he held a meet-and-greet at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, where he criticized the CNN report and the negative attention it has brought to his campaign.

“While everybody else wants to focus on the garbage and the trash that tries to besmirch people, we’re out here telling people about what we want to do, how we want to partner with you to make this state better,” Robinson told a crowd at the speedway.

Pressure had already been mounting on Robinson in recent weeks, when some Republicans saw his poor polling numbers as a potential drag on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's chances of winning North Carolina’s crucial 16 electoral votes. A WRAL News Poll in early September found the presidential race statistically tied, but Robinson trailing Democratic opponent Josh Stein by double digits.

During a visit to Wilmington on Saturday, Trump — who until recently frequently praised Robinson from the stage at rallies in the state — didn’t even mention the candidate he had endorsed and frequently compared to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Ahead of Trump’s visit, U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop spoke to the crowd. Like Trump, he made no mention of Robinson, but he did refer to the CNN report on Robinson, suggesting Democrats were behind it.

“This week in North Carolina, Democrats suddenly abandoned their aversion to hack and dump, rolled out a meticulously timed and coordinated character assassination, and then moved immediately to smear by association,” Bishop said. “Their aim, they say, is to disgrace not just one but all Republican candidates.”

Tommy Mattocks, a spokesman for the North Carolina Democratic Party, on Saturday denied the allegation that the party was behind the Robinson story. A CNN spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.

Fifty-one percent of likely November voters support Stein and 37% support Robinson, with 11% undecided, according to the WRAL News Poll of 676 likely voters, which was released this month. The gap has widened significantly since March, when the previous WRAL News Poll showed Stein with a 44%-to-42% lead over Robinson.

In the same September poll, Trump trailed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by just three points.

Asked Thursday whether Trump was still endorsing Robinson, the former president's campaign sent WRAL a statement that didn't didn’t answer the question, or even mention Robinson.

"President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country," Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokeswoman. "North Carolina is a vital part of that plan. We are confident that as voters compare the Trump record of a strong economy, low inflation, a secure border, and safe streets, with the failures of Biden-Harris, then President Trump will win the Tar Heel State once again. We will not take our eye off the ball.”

'Pretty far out there'

North Carolina is considered critical to winning the White House, and candidates from both major parties have paid special attention to this battleground state, which Trump won by less than 2% of the vote in 2020.

In recent months, Trump has spoken in Wilmington, Asheville, Charlotte and Asheboro as his campaign ramps up its focus on the state.
Trump led Harris in the state shortly after she took over the nomination from President Joe Biden, who dropped his campaign in July.

On Tuesday, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz came to the Tar Heel state to speak in Asheville. Meanwhile, Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance is scheduled to return to North Carolina to talk in Charlotte on Monday, less than a week after a speech in Raleigh.

Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, was asked Saturday if he was comfortable with Robinson as the Republican nominee in North Carolina.

“The allegations are pretty far out there, of course, but I know the allegations aren't necessarily reality,” Vance told NBC News. “And what I'd say is, it's ultimately up to Mark Robinson and North Carolina whether he's going to be their governor and whether he wants to stay in the race. I'll let them make that decision.”

Asked whether he believed the allegations, he said: “I don't not believe him. I don't believe him. I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion. He's going to make whatever arguments he wants to make. I'm sure the news media and others are going to investigate these comments further.”

Vance added that he doesn’t have any plans to campaign with Robinson and instead would focus on Trump’s campaign messaging. “We'll keep on talking about those issues,” Vance said, “but we don't have any plans to campaign with him.”