According to CNN projects, Josh Stein will win the race for governor of North Carolina

CNN
—

Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein will win North Carolina's gubernatorial election, CNN predicts, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose campaign was rocky as his history of inflammatory statements became public.

Stein, currently serving his second term as attorney general, will become the state's first Jewish governor. He will replace incumbent Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited.

Stein's victory is a boon for Democrats as they view the governorship as a check for Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature. The result is also not surprising.

Although Democrats predicted a competitive race in the state, Robinson's history of inflammatory comments ultimately derailed his campaign.

“Tonight, the people of North Carolina forcefully embraced a vision that is optimistic, forward-thinking and welcoming – a vision that is about creating opportunity for every North Carolinian,” Stein told his supporters at his election night party on Tuesday in Raleigh.

Robinson said in his concession speech that he was proud of the race he ran and that he left the door open to seek higher office in the future.

“The only disappointment I have in me is the disappointment you all feel, because I know so many of you desperately wanted to see nothing but victory tonight,” Robinson said. “But remember, victory pleases God.”

State and national Republicans distanced themselves from Robinson after a CNN-KFile report found that Robinson made dozens of disturbing posts on a pornography website's message board more than a decade ago in which he described himself as a “black Nazi.” and “perverts”. admitted watching women undress in a locker room and expressed support for the reintroduction of slavery.

Robinson denied making the posts, which were linked to a username that CNN was able to identify as Robinson based on a variety of biographical details and a shared email address between the two. Before and after the story was published, Robinson rejected calls from Republicans to drop out of the race.

In the months leading up to the Porn Forum report, Stein led Robinson in polls and fundraisers while denouncing him in television ads for his history of inflammatory comments, particularly denigration of women and opposition to abortion access. Robinson also had a long history of making anti-Semitic comments and targeting school shooting victims from the LGBTQ community.

He also failed to win the support of key Republicans in the state, including former Gov. Pat McCrory and Sen. Thom Tillis, who supported one of Robinson's opponents in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

Meanwhile, Stein continued to assert himself as attorney general, particularly through his work in eliminating North Carolina's rape enforcement backlog, which had become one of the largest in the country.

In Stein's campaign speech, he warned that the state cannot afford “job-killing culture wars,” a reference to his opponent and a 2016 law that required transgender people to use the restroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate. The state faced widespread boycotts and protests before it was revoked in 2017.

Born in Washington, D.C., Stein's family moved to North Carolina when he was young. His father, Adam Stein, co-founded the state's first racially integrated law firm. Stein received a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree from Harvard University.

Republicans hoped Robinson's humbler beginnings would help him build a better relationship with working-class voters. The lieutenant governor grew up in poverty, the ninth of 10 children, and often spoke about how his mother raised the family after his father's death. He referred to his time in a factory where he was laid off because jobs were being moved overseas.

Robinson's political career began in 2018 when he gave a viral speech at a Greensboro city council meeting defending the rights of gun owners following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Two years later he was elected lieutenant governor.

This story was updated with the candidates' remarks Tuesday evening.