An email address belonging to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, a website designed for married people seeking affairs.
An adviser to Robinson, granted anonymity to speak freely, confirmed to POLITICO that the email address in question belongs to Robinson.
The discovery of Robinson’s personal email address on Ashley Madison comes as Republicans in North Carolina on Thursday braced for more potentially damaging news about the scandal-prone nominee for governor, whose chances of winning the seat appear increasingly grim. Robinson has recorded an interview with CNN set to air Thursday evening, denying various allegations against him of other online activities, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
On Thursday afternoon, CNN reported that Robinson, whom Donald Trump endorsed, had made “inflammatory comments” on the message board of a pornography website, including that he “enjoyed watching transgender pornography.”
Robinson had already foreshadowed the nature of the allegations CNN would highlight, calling them “salacious tabloid trash” in a video his campaign released Thursday insisting he is remaining in the race and issuing a blanket denial of allegations being brought against him. The campaign published the video as political operatives in North Carolina and around the country were in a frenzy over the forthcoming CNN story.
“Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” he said in the video, blaming his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, for leaking information against him to CNN. “Folks, this race right now, our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with to salacious tabloid trash.”
A spokesperson for Robinson’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his email address being registered for an Ashley Madison account. Stein’s campaign also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Robinson, who as lieutenant governor became a well-known conservative firebrand and faced scrutiny for remarks about women, LGBTQ+ people, Jews and others, was already lagging in the polls.
While it’s unclear whether Robinson’s poor performance is having any negative effect on Trump’s position there, the former president remains locked in a close race with Kamala Harris in the state, even as Robinson appears increasingly out of the running.
Trump won North Carolina in the last two presidential elections — though by just over 1 point in 2020 — even as Democrat Roy Cooper won the governor’s office both times.
An internal poll conducted for Trump’s campaign found Robinson running 14 percentage points behind Stein, while Trump was leading Harris by 3 points in the state, according to a person with knowledge of the poll. Public polling has also shown Robinson consistently behind Stein.
Spokespeople for Trump’s campaign declined to comment on the reported findings of the internal poll.
Two people familiar with the situation, granted anonymity to speak about the sensitive issue, told POLITICO the Trump campaign has not pressured Robinson to drop out of the race or to skip Trump’s rallies in the state, despite a news report saying otherwise.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina. Robinson last appeared with Trump when he made his way on stage during an Aug. 21 rally in Asheboro, North Carolina when Trump called up local sheriffs. Trump had not asked Robinson to come on stage.
