Mark Robinson greets crowds that are small and vocal, but far from diverse

DENVER, NC – At his final stop of the day, Mark Robinson arrived at the Sunrise Café in Denver to greet a small but enthusiastic crowd that had been waiting to meet the man they hope will be the next governor of North Carolina.

Robinson, currently the Republican Lt. Governor, would be the first black governor in the state’s history, if elected. His opponent is the Democratic Attorney General, Josh Stein. The polling site 538 had Stein up by as many as 14 points at the beginning of August, but by month’s end, Robinson had closed the gap to within six points.

With the race tightening, Robinson has scheduled a series of meet and greets throughout the state, taking his campaign directly to the voters.

“I am voting for him because of his values,” said Larry Couch, a resident of Lincolnton, who was sporting a Mark Robinson for governor hat. “He’s a Republican, he believes in gun rights, and he’s a Christian.” Couch also described Robinson as a “people person” and showed genuine delight when Robinson arrived, noticed the hat, and autographed it before posing for a photo.

North Carolina is one of 17 states, as is Georgia, where the Governor and Lt. Governor are elected separately, and are not on the same ticket. Stein has the support of the incumbent governor, Democrat Roy Cooper. Robinson has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Cooper was originally on the short-list to become Kamala Harris’ running mate, but Cooper ultimately withdrew his name, citing his concern that Robinson could act as the state’s defacto governor if he were busy campaigning to become the next Vice President.

Robinson was introduced by Pat Harrigan, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Congress in North Carolina’s 10 ^th district.

“This is the most important election of our lives,” Harrigan began. “We have to come together for President Trump, and we have got to elect Republicans. There are a lot of people across this country who are starting to pay attention, Harrigan said, as he described Robinson as a man who “comes to tell the truth.”

Robinson began his remarks by launching into a criticism of his opponent.

“This race is real simple. I’ve got an opponent who likes to talk about everything except the facts,” Robinson said. “He loves to talk about everything that is not pertinent. He loves to talk about what I said on Facebook ten years ago.”

Robinson stated that it was Stein’s policies, along with the democratically controlled state legislature, that bears responsibility for the current problems facing North Carolina. However, according to the state of North Carolina government website, the Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, while the Republican Party controls both chambers of the state legislature.

“Taxes, sky high. Regulations, sky high. Nobody wanting to come here and do business and that was because of the policies that he (Stein) championed. The truth is, as attorney general, he has done nothing for the people of North Carolina.”

According to Robinson, rape, violent crime, Fentanyl deaths have increased under Stein.

“He has been a terrible, terrible attorney general, and he will be an atrocious governor” Robinson said, with an emphasis that brought cheers from the crowd.

“The honest truth is that there is a lot of economic inequity in this state,” Robinson continued, touting the economic opportunities in cities like Raleigh and Charlotte, but not so much in the Western and rural areas.

“No matter where you stand, no matter where you live, or what your zip code is, you can make a great living. That’s going to be the goal.”

Robinson laid out what he called the five pillars that the economy is built on – public safety, public education, health care, infrastructure, and housing, but took issue with educational policies across the state and the nation.

“We’ve got to get CRT (Critical Race Theory and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) out of the classroom and get back to teaching our children how to read and write and do mathematics.”

In closing, Robinson seemed to borrow a theme most often heard by the Kamala Harris presidential campaign – we’re not going back.

“Let’s not repeat history with Josh Stein, let’s make history with Mark Robinson.”

In a crowd of about 50 Robinson supporters, not a single one was Black.

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