Embattled Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — whose gubernatorial bid has been rattled by allegations that he previously posted racist and sexually explicit comments online — was hospitalized with burns Friday, his campaign said.
Mike Lonergan, a campaign spokesperson, told CBS News in a statement late Friday night that the 56-year-old Robinson was “currently being treated for burns following an incident at a campaign event in Mt. Airy.”
Lonergan added that Robinson was in “good spirits,” but did not provide any further details on his condition or the circumstances that prompted.
A source close to the campaign told CBS News that Robinson had been hospitalized.
This follows a bombshell CNN report last week which found that Robinson posted inappropriate comments to the message board of a pornographic website between 2008 and 2012, often under the name of “black NAZI.”
Since the report’s publication on Sept. 19, Robinson has seen several campaign staffers resign, including his campaign manager, general consultant and senior adviser, finance director, and deputy campaign manager. He has also appeared to lose support among the Republican leadership.
Robinson has not appeared in the two North Carolina rallies Trump has held since the CNN report. And when asked Thursday by reporters if he would pull his endorsement for Robinson, Trump responded, “I don’t know the situation.”
When asked Tuesday if Republicans should halt support for Robinson’s campaign, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responded, “It won’t surprise to you know I’m happy that there’s not a Senate race in North Carolina.”
Robinson, however, has so far vowed to stay in the race.
“This is an election about policies, not personalities,” he wrote on social media Wednesday. “Now is not the time for intra-party squabbling and nonsense.”
Kaia Hubbard and
contributed to this report.
