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A final plea to support Stein and Robinson in the North Carolina governor's race • NC Newsline

Attorney General Josh Stein and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson crisscrossed North Carolina this week to win votes in the governor's race — while also pushing for support for their partisan allies in the election.

Stein continued to hold a significant lead in fundraising and polls in the final weeks of the election, while Robinson aimed to rally his base after national Republicans all but abandoned his campaign. And they have both tried to use the platform of the governor's race to boost candidates who lagged in the state House vote and in the general election.

On the UNC-Chapel Hill campus Monday, Stein led a rally alongside Gov. Roy Cooper to boost enthusiasm among college students. In the front row sat a long list of Democrats who didn't vote – Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, state Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs and Appellate Judge Carolyn Thompson, as well as Sarah Taber, the candidate for agriculture commissioner.

“We have so many incredible people running,” Stein told the crowd of students. “That means you have all the power because these races are going to be close.”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (left) and Attorney General Josh Stein at a campaign rally for Stein on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus on October 28, 2024. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

And on Sunday, Robinson returned to where he started his campaign: Ace Speedway in Elon. Michelle Morrow, the GOP candidate for superintendent of public instruction, and Chad Brown, who is running for secretary of state, joined him at the racetrack in front of a sparse crowd.

The scene was in stark contrast to the scene 18 months ago, when many of the state's most elected Republicans attended the opening of his campaign and spoke on his behalf. Many have since backed away from the candidate after a CNN investigation published in September found that an account associated with Robinson made a series of explicitly racist and sexist comments on a pornography website.

The few speakers at Sunday's event defended Robinson's character in the face of controversy, but also repeatedly reminded supporters that a vote for him and other GOP candidates, regardless of their personalities, was first and foremost a vote for conservative policymaking. One such memory came from Robinson himself.

“You go and vote for policies, not people, not personalities,” Robinson said. “You don't make decisions based on what someone's political opponent said about them in an ad. They do it based on what these people have done in office.”

Robinson says he will accept Tuesday's results, win or lose.

Robinson told NC Newsline on Sunday that he would accept the results of Tuesday's contest, regardless of the outcome.

“Yeah, that goes without saying,” Robinson said. “We are willing to accept the results of the election, win or lose, and if it is a tie, we are willing to resolve it however we can legally resolve it.”

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson speaks to a handful of supporters at Ace Speedway in Elon on November 3, 2024. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Robinson has previously joined false claims about the 2020 presidential election, telling a church congregation in 2021 that Biden “stole the election.”

And earlier Sunday, one of Robinson's campaign staffers said in a series of social media posts that the results cannot be trusted “if the result is not known on election day.”

“The ELECTION must be decided on ELECTION night,” wrote Deputy Communications Director David Keltz. In another post, he wrote: “You cannot have confidence in a 'free and fair election' if the result is not known on election day.”

And in a third post, he urged poll watchers to “be on high alert”: “I'm going to make a prediction: every Democratic precinct in every swing state will claim to have thousands more ballots 'counting' after election night.” “must.” ends.”

In fact, all election night results in North Carolina are unofficial by law. Mail-in ballots received on Election Day, military and overseas ballots, and provisional ballots will all be counted after Tuesday evening, according to state law. Results will not be authenticated until the county completes its survey and tabulation process.

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