NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson officially launches his campaign for governor
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who has publicly teased a run for the state’s highest office for months and is widely expected to become the instant front runner in the GOP primary, is formally launched his gubernatorial campaign Saturday.
“Today, we make it official. I am running for governor of North Carolina,” Robinson said to loud cheers from the crowd of supporters that filled the grounds of the Ace Speedway in Elon, for the campaign kickoff event.
Robinson, who has quickly become one of the most influential conservative voices in North Carolina, spoke about lessons he learned from his mother, who raised him and his siblings on her own after his abusive father died when Robinson was in the fifth grade.
He said he was running for governor to continue implementing Republican policies that he said had led to the state’s economic success.
A large group of Republican state legislators, including Senate leader Phil Berger, took to the stage soon after the event began, to express their support for Robinson, and convey the importance of electing a strong conservative to governor.
Rep. Neal Jackson told the crowd that Republicans, who lost supermajorities in the Senate and House in 2018 and only regained them earlier this month, need someone “that will stand up and fight when there needs to be a fight.”
Robinson’s entrance into the race comes more than three months after the presumed Democratic front runner, Attorney General Josh Stein, launched his campaign with an announcement video that took direct aim at Robinson and called him out for his staunch opposition to abortion and his negative comments about the LGBTQ community.
The Republican field is also taking shape, with State Treasurer Dale Folwell launching his campaign, and former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker expected to announce his run for governor next month as well.
This story will be updated.
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