Four top staff members of Mark Robinson‘s campaign for North Carolina governor have stepped down, the campaign announced on Sunday as the candidate faces calls from Republicans to do the same.
The campaign’s comment did not link the staff departures to the bombshell CNN report detailing anti-Semitic and racist comments that the Republican candidate allegedly made years ago on a porn website, and it did not provide the reason for the staffers stepping down.
The campaign said that the staff members who stepped down are Chris Rodriguez, campaign manager; Heather Whillier, finance director; Jason Rizk, deputy campaign manager; and Conrad Pogorzelski, III, general consultant and senior advisor.
“I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors. I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days,” Robinson said in a statement.
He added that he is “confident our campaign remains in a strong position to make our case to the voters and win on November 5.”
Robinson has denied the allegations in the CNN report and vowed to stay in the race. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed concern over the allegations, but the North Carolina Republican Party released a statement shortly after the story was published, emphasizing that Robinson “has categorically denied the allegations.”
Democrats have sought to link Robinson to former President Donald Trump, releasing new advertisements highlighting Trump’s previous praise for Robinson, who is currently North Carolina’s lieutenant governor. Trump endorsed Robinson in the gubernatorial race and said he has no plans to withdraw his support.
Democrats see North Carolina as a possible state that can be flipped in the presidential race. They have unleashed resources on the state after Trump won it in 2020 by a narrow margin. Polls indicate that the race to the White House remains tight. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, has said that it would be “very hard” for his ticket to win the presidential race without North Carolina.
