Trump’s pick for North Carolina governor wins primary. Controversy follows him.

The presidential primary wasn’t the only race closely watched on Super Tuesday. A bid for governor in North Carolina is garnering a lot of media reaction due to a controversial Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

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Robinson won the Republican nomination and North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein clinched the Democratic nomination. Both Robinson and Stein will face off in November to replace Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited.

While both Stein and Robinson have made a name for themselves, Robinson often finds himself in the limelight. Some news headlines over the North Carolina gubernatorial race largely focused on Robinson.

The Huff Post: “Conspiracy Theorist Mark Robinson Wins North Carolina’s GOP Primary For Governor.”

The Guardian: “Hitler-quoting candidate wins North Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.”

MSNBC: “North Carolina GOP nominates Holocaust-denying, gay-bashing, extreme anti-abortion radical for Governor.”

However, Robinson has also criticized the media right back.

“Whenever they mention my name, they always mention my name in conjunction with social issues and how I hate everybody,” Robinson said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. “According to them, I hate everybody. It’s always about demonizing Mark Robinson or Ron DeSantis or that fellow that needs to be in the White House right now — Donald Trump.”

Robinson has received the endorsement of Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who called him “a Martin Luther King Jr. on steroids.”

Robinson has become known for giving fiery speeches and sermons.

“I got them AR-15’s in case the gov gets too big for its britches,” Robinson said during a speech in June of 2022. “I’m gonna fill those britches with some lead.” 

“There is no reason anybody, anywhere should be telling a child about transgenderism or any of that filth, and yes, I called it filth,” Robinson said in October of 2021.

“I don’t have to listen to those in my own party who have watched as my back has been whipped by our enemies,” Robinson said in December of 2023.

Robinson prides himself on not sounding like a politician, and based on Super Tuesday results, it seems to be working for the Republican base.

There was a strong showing for both Stein and Robinson on Super Tuesday. Stein received 476,000 votes, 70% of the Democratic vote, and Robinson received 664,000 votes, 65% of the GOP vote.

Stein and Robinson are two successful candidates with starkly different personalities and policies. The matchup is gearing up to be a contentious showdown in one of the nation’s key battleground states.

Right now, the political makeup of North Carolina is a Democratic governor with a Republican-controlled Legislature. This will be a race to watch outside of the presidential election come November.