At North Carolina GOP convention, gubernatorial candidate Robinson energizes Republicans for election

Even before Mark Robinson, North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor, took the stage at the state party convention on Saturday, several state candidates took time in their own speeches to energize the crowd, vouching for Robinson’s candidacy for governor.

When the state’s lieutenant governor took the stage more than an hour and a half after the start of the NCGOP Convention’s Old North State Dinner in Greensboro, Robinson began his fiery speech by denouncing the media for focusing too much on the ongoing criminal and civil trials of Donald Trump and not the “failures of the Democratic Party”. He also shared his vision for the state, which he said revolves around improving the economy and education.

“Believe me, there are enough people in this state who are talented enough and share the vision that we have that we can make this a reality, folks,” Robinson said during his speech, which was broadcast live on Triad television station WGHP.

The 55-year-old Republican is locked in one of the tightest gubernatorial races of the 2024 election against his Democratic opponent and state Attorney General Josh Stein. Robinson’s brash political style intrigued Trump supporters as well as the former president himself, who formally endorsed Robinson in March at a rally in Greensboro and called him “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

Robinson has also drawn attention from critics who say his rhetoric about the LGBTQ community and restricting access to abortion should be a cause for concern. The Greensboro native has previously defended his previous remarks, saying he can separate his religious views from public office and wants to make North Carolina a “destination state for life.”

Calling himself “part of the winning team” during his speech, Robinson attributed the state’s economic success to Republican policies and highlighted the role of the governor’s office – under his leadership – in preserving that success.

“North Carolina is literally on the verge of exploding economically,” Robinson said. “It’s time we direct this explosion in the right way and make this state something better than it already is.”

Education in North Carolina is another priority for Robinson, who said the state’s education system is “in shambles.” But the state of education is not teachers’ fault, Robinson said, adding that puts teachers in the same category as police officers.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was also the keynote speaker at Saturday’s dinner, where he began his speech by calling Robinson the state’s next governor. He also reiterated the sentiments of Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump and her husband Eric Trump, who spoke at the convention on Friday, that North Carolina will be an important state in 2024 that could “determine the direction of our entire country.” ”