North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has defeated Republican Mark Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, in their race for governor, NBC News projects.
Polling data showed Stein with a significant lead for much of the race, seemingly as a result of Robinson’s string of controversies. Robinson has been dogged over the years by stories of rotten social media posts and public statements, including an attack on school shooting victims, along with anti-Semitism, misogyny and transphobia.
In the final weeks of the race, senior members of his staff left his campaign after a CNN story linked him to a pseudonymous account on a porn site. The account reportedly declared itself a “black Nazi,” expressed support for slavery and shared some X-rated musings. As a result, Robinson, who has denied the allegations, appeared to face ostracism. For example, I like to note that one of his loudest supporters in the conservative media – Jason Whitlock – actually told him to confess his sins. And Donald Trump, who had disturbingly labeled the far-right extremist “Martin Luther King on steroids,” stopped appearing in public with Robinson in the months leading up to the election. Weeks before Election Day, Trump refused to give a solid answer to the question of whether he thought voters should support Robinson.
Stein, who became the first Jewish person elected to statewide office in North Carolina when he won his AG race in 2016, will now become the state’s first Jewish governor.
This is a development story. Check back for updates.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
