Republicans are starting to wonder if their imploding North Carolina gubernatorial candidate could cost Donald Trump a key swing state, and the presidency along with it.
The collapse of Mark Robinson’s campaign for governor since CNN reported that he called himself a “black NAZI,” among other offensive online comments, is threatening to drag Trump down in a state that most Republicans think the former president has to win this fall. North Carolina is the rare state where voters often split between both parties’ candidates for different offices, but Robinson’s damaged campaign presents a big challenge for the former president.
Most of Trump’s realistic paths to electoral victory over Kamala Harris run through North Carolina. And now the vice president’s campaign is running ads linking Trump and Robinson in a bid to yoke her rival to a beleaguered gubernatorial candidate he’s already endorsed.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he thought Trump still could outdistance Robinson but that he’s still watching the race closely, even as Democratic rival Josh Stein pulls away in the governor contest.
“I don’t see any scenario where President Trump wins the electoral vote without a path through North Carolina. So he should take it seriously.” said Tillis, who doesn’t support Robinson.
Robinson’s top campaign aides have fled as the national party abandoned him since CNN’s report on Thursday. The GOP’s national gubernatorial campaign arm is shutting off its ad buys in support of the embattled Republican, who has denied he made the posts and on Monday threatened to sue CNN.
Yet other Republicans in the state say more bad news could be coming down the pike.
“Everyone anticipates even more stuff coming out. That’s what the word on the street is,” said former North Carolina GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, who lost reelection in 2016 even as Trump won his state.
McCrory added that for Trump’s campaign, “the dilemma is going to be if even more information comes out drip by drip by drip.”
Trump has not rescinded his endorsement of Robinson, though he steered clear of the scandal-plagued gubernatorial hopeful in an appearance over the weekend after keeping his distance for several weeks. Robinson is trailing in many public polls by double digits, a clear warning sign for Trump.
Trump is running neck and neck with Harris in the state, but Republicans do not want to take any chances in the closely divided state. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham warned that if Robinson can’t “give us a credible defense, he’s a political zombie.”
“Trump’s doing well there. The problems and the challenges [Robinson] has, he hasn’t been able to explain,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 GOP leader.
Republicans “do have, at least at the presidential level, a lot riding on it,” Thune added. “And obviously a lot of House races down there too that we’re interested in.”
