According to unofficial results, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Attorney General Josh Stein each convincingly won their primary races for governor Tuesday night, setting up a long-anticipated, nationally watched and competitive gubernatorial election in November.
Robinson won his race over competitors Bill Graham and Dale Folwell, current state treasurer, with just over 63 percent of the vote. Stein won his race over four other candidates — including former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan — with just over 70 percent of the vote.
Republican winner
Robinson has long been the front-runner for the Republican governor nomination and was endorsed by former President Donald Trump — who recently called Robinson "Martin Luther King on steroids." Robinson made his name when a speech he gave to the Greensboro City Council went viral, but has more recently been widely criticized for antisemitic, sexist and anti-LGBTQ+ comments.
In a Facebook post from 2017, Robinson called reports of the Holocaust "hogwash." During a speech at a conservative convention in 2022, he said the country is "called to be led by men." He has often disparaged transgender and nonbinary people, calling them "filth" in a speech in 2021. He has also suggested science and history be cut from most elementary school curricula and advocated for a total ban on abortions, with no exceptions.
As lieutenant governor, Robinson spearheaded the F.A.C.T.S — Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students —task force, which aims to investigate "examples of discrimination or harassment related to a student’s faith, ethnicity, worldview, or political beliefs" in North Carolina schools.
Democratic winner
Stein has served as the state’s current attorney general since 2017 — he has pursued legal action against DuPont Chemicals for polluting the Cape Fear River, participated in national lawsuits against Meta and Juul.
He follows Roy Cooper in running for governor as a current attorney general. He was endorsed by Cooper, former governor Jim Hunt, Jeff Jackson and U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-4th). His platform advocates for abortion rights, Medicaid and further funding N.C. public schools.
