RALEIGH — Former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose gubernatorial campaign last year unraveled after a CNN report alleged he made racist and sexual posts on an online pornography forum, announced he was dropping his defamation lawsuit against the news network and that he would not pursue office in the future.
“The fact of the matter is this: the price we have paid in entering the political arena will never be recognized,” Robinson said in a release. “There is no dollar amount high enough. While it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of North Carolina, the continued political persecution of my family and loved ones is a cost I am unwilling to continue to bear.”
Robinson, a Republican, added that while he plans to continue to promote political causes he supports, he does not intend to run for office in the future.
“I will not run next year, nor do I have plans to seek elected office in the future,” he said.
Robinson had been rumored to be a possible 2026 primary challenger to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis said in September, following the publication of the CNN report, that he would not vote for Robinson in the gubernatorial race.
The mid-September CNN report alleged that Robinson made scandalous posts on several online forums and social media sites, including posts on the pornography site Nude Africa from 2008 to 2012 under the username minisoldr.
Many of the posts in the CNN story contradicted Robinson’s public stances on issues. The posts attributed to Robinson — who is black — by CNN included support for bringing back slavery, criticism of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a post claiming “I’m a black NAZI,” claims of adultery and an affinity for transgender pornography.
As lieutenant governor and during the gubernatorial campaign, Robinson had positioned himself as a proponent of “family values’ and also spoken out against transgender rights and called the LGBTQ+ community “filth.”
Despite the outcry after the release of the story and reports that the campaign of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump — who had praised Robinson and included him in campaign rallies in North Carolina — and others had pushed for him to bow out of the race for governor, Robinson denied the report and continued campaigning.
Robinson’s polling numbers dropped, and in mid-October, he filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN in Wake County, calling the report a “high-tech lynching.”
Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, handily defeated Robinson in November’s election, winning 54.9% of the vote to Robinson’s 40.1%. No other Republican in a statewide race lost by more than 3% last November.
In his announcement Friday saying he would no longer pursue the lawsuit, Robinson said the cost and “political gamesmanship” involved in continuing with the suit was “a futile effort.”
“The investigation of CNN and their ‘sources’ yielded tremendous results and brought closure to our family during what has been an unimaginably dark situation,” Robinson said.
“To the number of courageous whistleblowers who came forward with their tips, evidence, and information, I appreciate you more than you know. You too have brought us tremendous closure and peace.”
