Democrat Josh Stein has bested scandal-plagued Republican Mark Robinson to become the next governor of North Carolina, according to a call from the Associated Press.
Stein has served as the state's attorney general since 2017. He focused his campaign on Lt. Gov. Robinson's penchant for hateful speech and rhetoric, saying that he was unfit to lead the state. He will replace term-limited Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.
The race between Stein and Robinson polled close as recently as July, but the daylight between the candidates began to grow as more of Robinson's history of inflammatory comments came to light. The lieutenant governor had called LGBTQ+ people "filth" and advocated for brushing up on Adolf Hitler quotes.
The true break in the race came after CNN unearthed comments they claim were made by Robinson on a pornographic website's forum over a decade ago. In the comments — which were connected to Robinson via a commonly used handle and an email address belonging to the Republican politician — Robinson called himself a "Black Nazi," praised Hitler and said that slavery was "not bad."
Robinson denied the posts came from him, but that didn't stop the fallout. Republicans moved to distance themselves from his campaign, and his staff abandoned ship. He sued CNN for defamation last month, comparing their report to a "digital lynching."
@salonofficial Let’s see how Fox News spins Trump’s recent comments about “German Generals.”
♬ original sound - Salon
Let's see how Fox News spins Trump's recent comments about "German Generals."
