Washington — North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson will win the Republican primary for governor, CBS News projects.
Robinson received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump over the weekend, who called him “Martin Luther King on steroids.” On Tuesday, Robinson was projected to defeat attorney Bill Graham and state Treasurer Dale Folwell in the GOP primary.
Robinson, 55, has served as the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina since 2021. He gained notoriety in Republican circles after giving a pro-gun rights speech that went viral online, which helped him get elected Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor has also attracted attention for inflammatory comments in recent years LGBTQ+ issues, among other things. If elected, he would become the first black governor of North Carolina.
The race for the governor’s mansion is expected to be a widely watched — and expensive — race as Robinson faces a close race against North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein in November. CBS News predicted that Stein would win the Democratic primary on Tuesday night.
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Stein and Robinson are competing for the post, which is currently held by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, who is term limited. While Democrats have often won gubernatorial elections in North Carolina in recent decades, voters in recent years have largely elected Republicans to other offices and since 2012 have voted for Republicans in presidential elections. But some Republicans are eager to get the governor’s mansion back. Warned that Robinson could be a liability.
North Carolina is expected to become a battleground in 2024, and the race for the governor’s mansion will likely reflect broader political dynamics, with Robinson embracing the MAGA Republican playbook driven by Trump, and Stein, possibly aligning with President Biden.
