Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Senior staff working for the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina have resigned after he allegedly described himself as a “black Nazi”, expressed support for reinstating slavery and called Martin Luther King Jr “worse than a maggot”. Mark Robinson denied he was behind the account that made these comments between 2008 and 2012 on a site called Nude Africa. CNN attributed the account to Robinson through a shared email address and other biographical details; Politico has connected it to an IP address located near where Robinson lives. Democrats have been quick to remind voters that Trump endorsed him. Two numbers from NYT/Siena polling, conducted mostly before CNN’s report, explain why: Robinson trails his opponent by ten points and Trump only has a slender lead over Harris in the battleground state. Democrats hope that linking Robinson to Trump can deprive the latter of a key win. Counterpoint: North Carolina voters have split the ticket in the past two presidential races.
