(NewsNation) — North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, who is also the Republican nominee in the governor’s race, is strongly denying allegations about his character, but he did not specify which allegations he disputes.
“Well, guys, the news media is at it again. My opponent is at it again,” Robinson said in a post on his X page. “Our opponents are desperate to shift the focus from the substantive issues … to salacious tabloid trash.”
CNN first reported Thursday that Robinson made a series of inflammatory comments on a porn site’s message board more than 10 years ago, referring to himself as a “black NAZI!” He also, according to CNN, “expressed support for reinstating slavery.”
Later Thursday, Politico reported that an email address belonging to Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, the dating website for married people. Politico said that an adviser to Robinson confirmed that the address belonged to the lieutenant governor, who is married.
“The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” he continued in his X post. “You know my words. You know my character. And you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before.”
In response to questions from NewsNation local affiliate WNCN posed before the CNN report, Robinson spokesperson Mike Lonergan wrote in an email, “Where on earth did you hear this absurd nonsense? Is the press just making stuff up out of whole cloth now?”
Robinson is facing Democrat Josh Stein, North Carolina’s attorney general, in the race for the governorship. The state will begin mailing ballots to military personnel and North Carolinians living overseas on Friday.
In a statement, Stein’s campaign said, “North Carolinians already know Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be governor.”
Stein has been a heavy favorite to win the race. An average of polls taken in the past week gives Stein an 11-point lead, 49% to 38%.
WNCN and The Hill contributed to this report.