WILKESBORO, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson vowed Monday to rebuild his campaign staff after several top aides quit and a key Republican group backed away from his race following a CNN report alleging he made explicit racial and sexual posts years ago on a pornography website’s message board.

Robinson, the sitting lieutenant governor, revealed Sunday that his campaign’s senior adviser, campaign manager and two other top staffers had stepped down. The senior adviser said separately that four other top aides also had quit.

And the Republican Governors Association — anticipated to run ads to boost Robinson’s bid into the fall and criticize Democratic rival Josh Stein — sounded ready to move on to other races. Recent polls have shown Stein, the current attorney general, ahead of Robinson. Stein also has outspent Robinson on the airwaves.

“We don’t comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what’s public — our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made,” association spokesperson Courtney Alexander said Monday. “RGA remains committed to electing Republican Governors all across the country.”

Robinson, who would be North Carolina’s first Black governor if elected, has denied writing the messages from more than a decade ago, well before he became active in politics, calling them “salacious tabloid lies.” Fellow Republican leaders are suggesting Robinson, with a long history of inflammatory comments, must make a credible defense, or his gubernatorial bid is washed up.

Speaking after a campaign event Monday morning in the northwestern North Carolina mountains, Robinson said his campaign is “getting offers from all over” to help work for it.

“We’re right in the process right now of forming a team that we know can still lead us to victory,” Robinson said at a bakery in Wilkesboro, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Charlotte. “So we have full confidence in our ability to keep going.”

The CNN report last week unearthed posts it said Robinson left on a porn site’s message boards in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI;” said he enjoyed transgender pornography; said in 2012 he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama; and slammed the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot.”

Robinson also finds himself separated from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who endorsed Robinson for governor before the March primary and has given him the stage to speak at his in-state rallies. Robinson was not involved in Saturday’s Trump rally in Wilmington, and Trump didn’t mention him. Trump has scheduled another North Carolina event for Wednesday in suburban Charlotte.

Talking to reporters in Wilkesboro, Robinson said his campaign is talking about taking CNN “to task for what they have done to us ... you better understand I am coming after CNN full throttle.” CNN provided no comment Monday.

Last week, CNN said it had matched details of an account on the pornographic website forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name. CNN reported that details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s age, length of marriage and other biographical information..

In a speech to supporters at Vernon’s Cake Carousel, Robinson tried to focus on campaign issues like the economy, emphasizing public safety, public education, healthcare, infrastructure and housing. He referred briefly to his working-class history, saying he knows what it’s like to lose a job because the work is being moved to Mexico.

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Robinson was elected lieutenant governor in his first bid for public office in 2020. He tells a life story that includes childhood poverty, personal bankruptcy and religious renewal.

Considered a rising star in the party, he has been well-known for his fiery speeches and evocative rhetoric. Trump had previously called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” for his speaking ability.

Stein and his allies have blitzed TV and the internet with commercials and footage of Robinson making incendiary comments. In a 2021 speech in a church, Robinson used the word “filth” when discussing gay and transgender people. On a Facebook post in 2019, Robinson said abortion in America is about “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down or your pants up — and not get pregnant by your own choice because you felt like getting your groove thing on.”

What to know about the 2024 Election

  • Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
  • Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
  • AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.

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