Mark Robinson (American politician)

Robinson ran in the 2020 election for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. He won the Republican nomination, clearing the 30% threshold to avoid a primary runoff, defeating state Senator Andy Wells, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson, former congresswoman Renee Ellmers, and former state representative Scott Stone.[9] He faced Democratic nominee Yvonne Lewis Holley in the general election in November.[10] Either Robinson or Holley would become North Carolina's first African American lieutenant governor.[11] He defeated Holley.[12]

Robinson is opposed to abortion.[13] Robinson rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.[14] He does not support legalizing recreational marijuana.[15]

On his Facebook page, which has more than 100,000 followers,[16] In Facebook postings, Robinson has lashed out at others and posted various insults;[14] his posts disparaging transgender people, Muslims, former President Barack Obama, and African Americans who support Democrats, among others, have drawn criticism.[16]

Robinson accused people "who support this mass delusion called transgenderism" of seeking "to glorify Satan";[16] claimed that the movie Black Panther was "created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic Marxist" that was "only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets" (using a Yiddish slur for Black);[16][13] called former President Obama a "a worthless, anti-American atheist"[16] and posted "birther" memes;[13] accused American Muslims of being "INVADERS"; called Michelle Obama a man; and disparaged Joy Behar and Maxine Waters in crude terms.[16] After the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, Robinson wrote that "Homosexuality is STILL an abominable sin and I WILL NOT join in 'celebrating gay pride.'"[13] On 2020, Robinson asserted that the coronavirus was a "globalist" conspiracy to defeat Donald Trump, and dismissed the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing, "The looming pandemic I’m most worried about is SOCIALISM."[13]

The Charlotte Observer editorial board described Robinson's posts as "cringeworthy" and "an embarrassment"[17] while the state Democratic Party called them "homophobic, anti-Semitic, and downright unhinged."[18] Robinson's posts were also criticized by Equality North Carolina[16] and Jewish community leaders in North Carolina.[19] When asked about the posts, Robinson declined to apologize, referring to his posts as "my personal opinions" and saying "I'm not ashamed of anything that I post."[14][16]

He was sworn-in on January 9, 2021.[20]