Republicans Confirm National Party Is Done Buying Ads For Trump-Backed Candidate For Governor In North Carolina

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose campaign has bled support since the revelation that he posted racist comments on a porn site, has now lost the financial backing of the Republican Governors Association.

Audrey Fahlberg at National Review wrote about the fallout from the KFILE story that broke on CNN last week, and included a statement from a spokesperson from the RGA on their ad buys in North Carolina for their gubernatorial race:

“We don’t comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what’s public — our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made,” RGA communications director Courtney Alexander tells National Review. “RGA remains committed to electing Republican Governors all across the country.”

A fundraising event for Robinson that was scheduled for Friday and was going to feature Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who is the chairman of the RGA, was canceled. Many of Robinson’s campaign staffers have also quit since the story broke.

Robinson is the Republican candidate for governor in the Tar Heel State and has been prominently supported by former President Donald Trump. But at a campaign event in North Carolina Saturday, days after the KFILE story broke, Trump did not mention Robinson, whom he had previously given a very enthusiastic endorsement, calling Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

According to NBC News, Trump did not plan to drop his endorsement — at least as of Friday.

NCGOP, the statewide arm of the Republican party, was still standing by Robinson as of Monday, posting on social media that Robinson “has categorically denied the allegations made by CNN but that won’t stop the Left from trying to demonize him via personal attacks. The left needs this election to be a personality contest, not a policy contest because if voters are focused on policy, Republicans win on Election Day.”

Robinson said on Monday that he planned to take legal action against CNN over the story.