North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson
Democrats are hoping to tie Republicans to Mark Robinson, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who is enmeshed in controversy. Matt Rourke/AP

Mark Robinson Is Definitely North Carolina Republicans’ Candidate. Democrats Are Swooping In.

Ballots have started going out in North Carolina, where Republicans’ gubernatorial candidate is locked in. Now, Democrats are working to tie other Republican candidates to him.

Democrats are hoping to tie Republicans to Mark Robinson, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who is enmeshed in controversy. Matt Rourke/AP

North Carolina Republicans are grappling with the fallout from a major investigative report detailing their gubernatorial nominee’s alleged online history and how it might affect voters’ perception of their party’s ticket collectively now that their candidate is locked in for the election.

Mark Robinson, the gubernatorial candidate, announced his decision to stay in the race, plowing through the legal deadline to drop out. North Carolina ballots started going out on Friday after an unrelated delay. Since Robinson will continue on as their controversial pick, Democrats see a new path to sink Republicans in the battleground.

CNN reported that Robinson allegedly posted content that included sexually explicit and racist comments years ago on a porn site, and Robinson denied the allegations. Meanwhile, North Carolina Republicans are playing it cool.