Mark Robinson (American politician)

Mark Keith Robinson (born August 8, 1968) is an American politician serving as the 35th and current Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he is the first African American to hold the office. After defeating Democratic nominee Yvonne Lewis Holley in the 2020 lieutenant gubernatorial election, he succeeded Republican Dan Forest, who had made an unsuccessful run for the governorship against incumbent Democrat Roy Cooper.

Mark Robinson
35th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2021
Governor	Roy Cooper
Preceded by	Dan Forest
Personal details
Born	Mark Keith Robinson August 8, 1968 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Yolanda Hill
Children	2
Education	North Carolina A&T State University University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1985–1989
Unit	United States Army Reserve

Early life

Robinson was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, as the ninth of ten children.[1] His father was abusive, and he and his siblings lived in foster care for part of their childhood.[2] From 1985 to 1989, he served in the United States Army Reserve.[3] Robinson worked at a furniture factory[3][4] and had begun to study history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.[5]

In April 2018, Robinson attended a meeting of the Greensboro City Council, where they debated whether or not to cancel a gun show in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Robinson spoke in favor of gun rights, and video of his speech went viral after it was shared on Facebook by Mark Walker.[6] He was invited to speak at the National Rifle Association's annual convention that year.[7][8]

Political career

2020 campaign

Robinson ran in the 2020 election for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. He won the Republican nomination, clearing the 30% threshold to avoid a primary runoff, defeating state Senator Andy Wells, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson, former congresswoman Renee Ellmers, and former state representative Scott Stone.[9] He faced Democratic nominee Yvonne Lewis Holley in the general election in November.[10] Either Robinson or Holley would become North Carolina's first African American lieutenant governor.[11] He defeated Holley.[12]

Political views and controversial Facebook posts

Robinson is opposed to abortion.[13] Robinson rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.[14] He does not support legalizing recreational marijuana.[15]

On his Facebook page, which has more than 100,000 followers,[16] In Facebook postings, Robinson has lashed out at others and posted various insults;[14] his posts disparaging transgender people, Muslims, former President Barack Obama, and African Americans who support Democrats, among others, have drawn criticism.[16]

Robinson accused people "who support this mass delusion called transgenderism" of seeking "to glorify Satan";[16] claimed that the movie Black Panther was "created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic Marxist" that was "only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets" (using a Yiddish slur for Black);[16][13] called former President Obama a "a worthless, anti-American atheist"[16] and posted "birther" memes;[13] accused American Muslims of being "INVADERS"; called Michelle Obama a man; and disparaged Joy Behar and Maxine Waters in crude terms.[16] After the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, Robinson wrote that "Homosexuality is STILL an abominable sin and I WILL NOT join in 'celebrating gay pride.'"[13] On 2020, Robinson asserted that the coronavirus was a "globalist" conspiracy to defeat Donald Trump, and dismissed the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing, "The looming pandemic I’m most worried about is SOCIALISM."[13]

The Charlotte Observer editorial board described Robinson's posts as "cringeworthy" and "an embarrassment"[17] while the state Democratic Party called them "homophobic, anti-Semitic, and downright unhinged."[18] Robinson's posts were also criticized by Equality North Carolina[16] and Jewish community leaders in North Carolina.[19] When asked about the posts, Robinson declined to apologize, referring to his posts as "my personal opinions" and saying "I'm not ashamed of anything that I post."[14][16]

Tenure

He was sworn-in on January 9, 2021.[20]

Personal life

Robinson and his wife, Yolanda, have two children.[3] They live in High Point, North Carolina.[5] Robinson has filed for bankruptcy on three separate occasions, has been sued for payments, and had liens placed on him by the Internal Revenue Service as recently as 2012. He says that he has straightened out his financial problems.[7]

Elections

2020 North Carolina Republican Primary lieutenant gubernatorial election[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Robinson	240,843	32.52%
	Republican	Andy Wells	107,824	14.56%
	Republican	Mark Johnson	89,200	12.04%
	Republican	John L. Ritter	85,023	11.48%
	Republican	Renee Ellmers	50,526	6.82%
	Republican	Greg Gebhardt	50,474	6.81%
	Republican	Deborah Cochran	48,234	6.51%
	Republican	Scott Stone	48,193	6.51%
	Republican	Buddy Bengal	20,395	2.75%
Total votes			740,712	100%

2020 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Robinson	2,800,655	51.63%
	Democratic	Yvonne Lewis Holley	2,623,458	48.37%
Total votes			5,424,113	100%
	Republican hold

References

1. "App State's Turning Point USA brings candidate for lieutenant governor to discuss education, gun rights – The Appalachian". Theappalachianonline.com. February 20, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
2. "'Our message resonated': Greensboro's Mark Robinson on his improbable rise to lieutenant governor". greensboro.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
3. comment, 2018 / Leave a (April 12, 2018). "Meet the Man Whose Hometown Defense of 2nd Amendment Went Viral". The Daily Signal. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
4. "Mark Robinson Announces Run For Lt. Governor - The Rhino Times of Greensboro". Rhinotimes.com. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
5. Pulliam, Tim (November 10, 2020). "North Carolina's first Black lieutenant governor-elect Mark Robinson hopes to inspire others with personal story". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham.
6. Molina, Camila; Moody, Aaron (April 6, 2018). "'Come hell or high water,' citizens will keep gun rights, NC man vows in viral video". The News & Observer.
7. Doran, Will (March 6, 2020). "Meet the black gun rights activist who could make history for Republicans". The News & Observer.
8. Larson, David (March 11, 2020). "Grassroots effort drives Mark Robinson to shock win in GOP Lt. Gov. primary". North State Journal. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
9. Gary D. Roberson (March 4, 2020). "Political newcomer Mark Robinson of Greensboro wins GOP nomination for lieutenant governor". Associated Press.
10. Vaughan, Dawn (March 10, 2020). "Democrats avoid a runoff in NC, setting up history-making election for Lt. Governor". The News & Observer.
11. "Gun Speech Propels Black Former Factory Worker to Lieutenant Gov Nomination". Afro. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
12. "Mark Robinson becomes N.C.'s first African American lieutenant governor". November 3, 2020.
13. Billman, Jeffrey C. (March 27, 2020). "The NCGOP's Lt. Gov. Candidate Apparently Thinks the Coronavirus Is a "Globalist" Conspiracy to Destroy Donald Trump". Indy Week. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
14. Fain, Travis (September 25, 2020). "On Facebook, NC's Republican candidate for lieutenant governor lashes out, insults". WRAL. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
15. "Candidate Profile for Mark Robinson". ivoterguide.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
16. Colin Campbell (October 10, 2020). "Muslim 'invaders' and transgender 'delusion': Lt. gov. candidate's posts draw criticism". News & Observer.
17. "Endorsements: Our choices for NC Lt. Gov, Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer and Insurance". The Charlotte Observer. September 30, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
18. Campbell, Colin (October 22, 2020). "NC Lt. Gov. candidate appeared with religious leader who plans to become king of the US". News & Observer.
19. Julian Grace (November 4, 2020). "Religious leader wants answers from lieutenant governor-elect about Facebook posts". WRAL.
20. "North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, state officials sworn in during inauguration ceremony". WXII 12. Hearst Television Inc. January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
21. "2020 Republican Primary Lieutenant Governor Election Results".
22. "2020 North Carolina Lieutenant Governor General Election Results".