Embattled Republican candidate fights on in North Carolina governor's race
North Carolina had been projected as the state with the most closely watched race for governor this fall
ELLERBE, N.C. (AP) — Addressing over 100 supporters outside an ice cream stand that's shaped like a giant strawberry, North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson battered his Democratic rival for governor and the media, and said he'd keep fighting as their race neared its conclusion.
“I’m on the battlefield for the people of this state,” he said in a stump speech this week.
In what was once expected to be one of the fiercest down-ballot races of the year, a candidate who won the endorsement and effusive praise of former President Donald Trump continues to play defense as Election Day looms. He's been badly outspent by his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Josh Stein, and he's still trying to blunt the impact of a CNN report on offensive comments he allegedly made on an online porn site years before he ran for public office.
Answering reporters' questions Wednesday outside The Berry Patch in Ellerbe, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Raleigh, Robinson said he still believes he'll win.
