Republican Mark Robinson has been projected to win the North Carolina Lt. Gov. race by multiple outlets, making him presumptively the first black lieutenant governor in the state’s history.
Robinson defeated Democratic state Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley — who also would have been the state’s first black lieutenant governor — by a tally of 52% to 48%, the Charlotte Observer reported. Robinson will reportedly be just the second-ever black member of the Council of State in North Carolina. The council consists of the nine statewide executive positions underneath the governor, per the Observer. (RELATED: Kim Klacik, Baltimore’s Viral GOP Star, Loses House Race)
Robinson first gained notoriety after a pro-gun speech he gave at the Greensboro City Council went viral in 2018. “It seems like every time we have one of these shootings… you wanna turn around and restrict my right… to buy a firearm,” he said in the fiery speech to his hometown’s leadership. “I’m here to stand up for the law-abiding citizens of this community.” (RELATED: Madison Cawthorn Wins North Carolina Congressional Seat)
???? BREAKING NEWS: Yvonne Lewis Holley, Democratic candidate for Lt Governor tells me she just called and conceded the race. Republican Mark Robinson will be North Carolina’s first Black Lt. Governor. #ElectionNight @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/qfP8CsOzII
— Tim Pulliam (@TimABC11) November 4, 2020
The rising star within the state GOP repeatedly found himself in hot water during the campaign over contentious Facebook posts he had made regarding race, religion and the LGBTQ community, per the Observer. In the past he has said those “who support this mass delusion called transgenderism” are trying “to turn God’s creation backwards, and make it into a sickening image of rebellion to glorify Satan.”
He has said that Muslims “refuse to assimilate to our ways” and “are not ‘immigrants,’ they are INVADERS,” per the same Observer report. Robinson also reportedly had posts referring to former first lady Michelle Obama as a man and former President Barack Obama as “a worthless, anti-American atheist who wanted to bring this nation to it (sic) knees.”
Despite the controversy, Robinson vastly outperformed the state’s incumbent Lieutenant Governor and Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Forest. Forest lost to incumbent Democratic state Gov. Roy Cooper by about 4.5 points.