Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp withdrew his support on Monday from beleaguered North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who was linked in a CNN report to a series of inflammatory comments on a pornographic website.
The Georgia governor’s statement came after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained photographs of Kemp speaking at an August fundraiser in North Carolina for Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in that state.
“The governor attended the fundraiser as vice chair of the Republican Governors Association and will not be offering further support to the Robinson campaign,” said Cody Hall, a senior Kemp deputy.
Kemp’s statement came on the same day the RGA announced it would no longer fund efforts to elect Robinson in the Tar Heel State. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, the chairman of the RGA, also pulled his endorsement from Robinson on Monday.
Robinson’s campaign has spiraled since CNN reported last week that he wrote on a porn site years ago that he was a “black Nazi” and that he enjoyed watching transgender pornography. Robinson has denounced the report and said he’s staying in the race even as most of his senior staff resigned.
Democrats are growing more optimistic about their party’s chances in North Carolina beyond the race for governor. Polls show a tight contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in the state’s presidential race.
Kemp has sought to play a larger role in national Republican politics through the RGA, which helped him fend off Republican David Perdue and Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2022. The term-limited governor is a potential contender for the U.S. Senate in 2026 or president in 2028.
