As the nation marches toward another presidential election, North Carolina has been in the national headlines — and not only because it’s a swing state that may determine who will become the next president of the United States.
The Tar Heel state has also garnered attention because CNN recently reported Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Trump-backed republican nominee running for N.C. governor, referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” on a porn site’s message board more than a decade ago. He also expressed support for reinstating slavery, the CNN report found.
The scandal has upended his campaign, as he now trails by double digits in polls and most of his staff has resigned. There's a fear among Republicans that he could also damage former President Trump’s chances in the presidential election among N.C. voters.
Robinson is but the latest in N.C.'s history of political scandals.
Former Democrat and North Carolina U.S. Sen. John Edwards was a major presidential contender in 2008, until he impregnated his mistress, then attempted to cover it up.
Former Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn lost his primary in 2022 after claiming he was invited to an orgy in Washington where leaders in the effort to curb drug addiction were doing cocaine.
And, a new election was ordered for the House seat in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District in 2018 after a Republican political operative was indicted for fraud.
Those are just a few of the stories in North Carolina’s notorious past.
We sit down with political reporters and analysts to consider how N.C. scandals have reverberated in both state and national politics.
GUESTS:
Jim Morrill, former reporter for The Charlotte Observer
Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history and politics department chair at Catawba College
Colin Campbell, capitol bureau chief and political reporter for WUNC
