Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced today at Ace Speedway in Alamance County that he is running for North Carolina governor.
"I'm running for governor because we, the people of North Carolina, need someone who understands us," he said during the rally. "We don't need another politician who has spent their life climbing the political ladder, we need a public servant."
Robinson has been hinting at a run for months and is widely viewed as the favorite to win the Republican nomination — setting up a potential showdown with Democratic frontrunner Attorney General Josh Stein. He delivered the GOP's response to Gov. Roy Cooper's State of the State address in March, instead of House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland, Rutherford) or Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham).
Robinson was first elected as lieutenant governor in 2020, defeating his Democratic opponent Yvonne Lewis Holley by 3 percent of the vote. Since his election, he has created a commission to fight "indoctrination" in K-12 education, attacked news media and condemned the LGBTQ+ community on multiple occasions.
Robinson said during his rally that he would support legislation to make abortions after a heartbeat is detected illegal. He has previously said he would support a bill that bans abortion in all cases and that he believes in the "sanctity of the unborn." Robinson paid for an abortion his now wife had in 1989, which he said he regrets.
Robinson's Republican primary opponents include Dale Folwell, the state's treasurer, and former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who is expected to announce his bid next month, according to the News & Observer.
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