Tomorrow, North Carolina will choose either the first Black Governor in its history or its first Jewish senior elected official, though the race between Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is anything but close, according to polls.
Stein has consistently run a double-digit lead against Robinson, who has closely aligned his bombastic campaign to replace Gov. Roy Cooper with former President Donald Trump’s run for the White House.
Both gubernatorial candidates differ widely on almost every political issue at the state and national levels.
Stein supports abortion access and is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic and Reproductive Freedom for All and said that “deciding whether and when to have a baby is the most personal decision a woman can make … It should not be made by politicians.”
Robinson has publicly shamed women seeking abortions for failing to “keep your skirt down,” and supports a wholesale ban on the procedure under any circumstances. He has said he supports a complete ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. “I want North Carolina to be the most pro-life state in the nation…. Abortion is murder,” Robinson has said.
Stein advocates for greater voter access and is on record defending the Voting Rights Act.
“Americans rely on the Voting Rights Act to protect their political power and fight back against voter discrimination,” Stein said. He also called the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol “a violent insurrection” that “violated one of the most sacred principles of our democracy — the peaceful transfer of power as a result of a free and fair election.”
Robinson has said that the Civil Rights Movement “destroyed” Black schools and businesses. He said the U.S. should “go back to the America where women couldn’t vote” and are “called to be led by men.” He has repeatedly belittled Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. even as Trump praised him as Martin Luther King Jr. “on steroids.”
Robinson opposes early voting, of which nearly 5 million North Carolinians have already taken advantage. More than half the state’s 7.8 million registered voters have either mailed in a ballot or voted in person since early voting began on Oct. 17, according to the State Board of Elections.
Stein is endorsed by North Carolina educators. He said that as Governor, he would focus on “ensuring our kids get the quality education they need to succeed in life.”
Robinson, meanwhile, has advocated for eliminating the State Board of Education, and supported reducing funding for North Carolina public schools in favor of private school vouchers. He is endorsed by Moms for American Action.
In a speech this past summer at a rural North Carolina church, Robinson said that “some folks need killing … It’s time for someone to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity.”
Robinson called the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the United State Capitol a “minor thing” and said those arrested were “political prisoners.”
Most recently, Robinson has been enmeshed in a scandal of his own making. More than a decade ago, a screen name linked to him by CNN posted lewd, racist and antisemitic comments on a porn website. They included Robinson declaring himself a “Black NAZI,” admitting to watching unaware women shower while he was in his teens, having a hankering for transexual pornographic material and other comments that CNN deemed too explicit for publication.
Robinson has blamed Stein for being lax in enforcing laws while Attorney General and releasing non-violent offenders from crowded prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The business Robinson helped operate with his wife Yolanda Hill has been cited by the state for falsely filing $130,000 in reimbursements. Stein, while consistently leading Robinson by double digits in the polls, has also outraised Robinson by 11 times, hauling in $44.6 million in the third quarter compared to Robinson’s $4 million.
