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On Tuesday, Mark Robinson (R) won the Republican nomination for Governor of North Carolina. Robinson, currently North Carolina's lieutenant governor, is one of the most radical gubernatorial nominees in modern history. He has a well-documented record of promoting conspiracy theories, maligning LGBTQ people, using anti-Semitic tropes, and demeaning women.
Robinson has repeatedly minimized the atrocities of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. "I am so sick of seeing and hearing people STILL talk about Nazis and Hitler and how evil and manipulative they were," Robinson wrote on Facebook in 2017. He accused unknown forces of "pushing this Nazi boogeyman narrative all these years."
He also has veered into Holocaust denial. “The center and leftist leaning Weimar Republic put heavy gun ownership restrictions on German citizens long before the Nazis took power," Robinson wrote in a 2018 Facebook post. "This foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash." Robinson defended himself by claiming he was only referring to the contention that Nazis disarmed Jews as "hogwash." This is not very convincing, since the Nazis did seek to disarm Jews, issuing "Regulations Against Jews Possession of Weapons" in 1938. Overall, "Nazi-era Germany imposed greater gun restrictions for Jews (and other perceived enemies) at the same time it loosened gun restrictions for other groups," according to Politifact.
Robinson’s post was not an isolated incident. “There is a REASON the liberal media fills the airwaves with programs about the NAZI and the ‘6 million Jews’ they murdered,” Robinson wrote on Facebook in 2017. The post is notable for the use of scare quotes around "6 million Jews," suggesting doubts about whether the Holocaust actually happened. Robinson does not use quotes when discussing the millions killed by Communist regimes.
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In 2018, Robinson posted an anti-Semitic rant about the movie Black Panther, saying the story was "created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic marxist." Robinson said the purpose of the movie was "to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets," deploying both an anti-Semitic trope and a Yiddish slur.
Major corporations, not eager to associate themselves with Robinson's toxic brand, have refrained from donating directly to Robinson's campaign for governor. Nevertheless, these same corporations are funneling millions in revenue that can and will be deployed to help Robinson win his race.
Here is how it works.
Tuesday night, shortly after Robinson was declared the winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary, the Republican Governors Association posted their congratulations and said, "[W]e look forward to supporting him in the general election."
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The RGA is one of the most powerful 527 political organizations in the country. It routinely spends tens of millions of dollars on key races. Robinson will face Attorney General Josh Stein (D) in the general election in what is expected to be one of the closest contests in the country. The RGA has already paid for a slick website attacking Stein.
The RGA has plenty of resources because, unlike many political entities, it can accept unlimited amounts of money from corporations. This is not money that comes from corporate PACs, but funds that are transferred directly from corporate treasuries.
Many of the nation's most prominent corporations have donated 6-figure sums to the RGA — money that can and will be used to help Robinson's win. Major corporate donors to the RGA in 2023 included Microsoft ($400,000), Alphabet (Google’s parent company) ($378,000), CVS ($300,000), Pfizer ($300,000), Amazon ($275,000), Coca-Cola ($259,287), Deloitte ($151,000), and DoorDash ($125,000).
Of course, the RGA will be supporting other candidates this cycle as well, and some are significantly more moderate than Robinson. That's why making large donations to the RGA is such an attractive option for corporations. It allows them to support candidates like Robinson — who may soon be a powerful elected official — without the scrutiny that comes with a direct contribution.
Robinson's bigotry, misogyny, and conspiracy theories
Robinson is also notorious for his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. He has previously called LGBTQ people “devil worshiping child molesters” and, in 2021 during a church appearance, said that “transgenderism, homosexuality” were “filth.” Following outcries over his comments, Robinson claimed that his remarks were “targeted at LGBTQ-themed books that he wants out of school libraries and aren't against any individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” But even after the incident, Robinson continued to go on tirades against LGBTQ people. At another church event, he questioned the “purpose of homosexuality” and argued that “[i]t creates nothing.” Straight couples are superior to gay couples, Robinson added. This year, at a campaign event, he suggested that trans women should be arrested if they use women’s restrooms.
Robinson also holds various other fringe views. He believes climate change is “pseudoscience,” thinks Obama’s birth certificate is fake, and once accused a Parkland shooting survivor of being a paid actor. Muslims, Robinson said in a 2017 Facebook post, are “invaders.” He also previously defended Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, both serial sex offenders, saying that they were part of a left-wing conspiracy and that "everyone's got something in their past." He said he "wouldn't be surprised" if the moon landing was faked and 9/11 was an "inside job." And, during a campaign event in 2020, he said he would “absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote.”
When it comes to abortion – which Robinson has called a “moral evil, like slavery” – Robinson says that he doesn’t “care if you’re 24 hours pregnant.” He would ban abortions entirely. Once a woman is pregnant, Robinson claims, it’s not their “body anymore.”
The other corporations writing big checks
Other corporate contributors to RGA — and by extension Robinson's candidacy — in 2023 include Charter Communications ($221,000), Humana ($165,500), Motion Picture Association ($162,595), Oracle ($125,000), Walgreens ($101,000), Intuit ($100,000), and The Anschutz Corporation, the parent company of Coachella ($100,000).
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