North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who has recently been in the news for his past inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board, where he tagged himself as a “Black Nazi”, was treated for second-degree burns at Northern Regional Hospital “following an incident at a campaign event” in Mount Airy on Friday night, according to Mike Lonergan, communications director for Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign.
Lonergan added in a statement that Robinson “is in good spirits, appreciates the outpouring of well wishes, and is excited to return to the campaign trail as scheduled first thing tomorrow morning.”
Robinson’s burns stemmed from an accident at an automotive show, there was no foul play involved, and it was not politically motivated, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Robinson, North Carolina’s Republican nominee for governor, had made several campaign stops around the state on Friday, according to a previously provided schedule and social media posts. His final stop was the Mayberry Truck Show and Parade in Mount Airy, where the incident occurred.
The campaign has not provided any further details about the incident. NewsNation was first to report his hospitalization, which a source close to his campaign confirmed to CNN earlier Friday night.
This incident comes amid a tumultuous time for Robinson’s campaign, which has been marred by allegations of past inappropriate comments and the resignation of several campaign staffers.
Many prominent Republicans sought to distance themselves from Robinson in the aftermath, including former President Donald Trump, who did not mention Robinson during a recent campaign stop in North Carolina despite having previously endorsed him.
Robinson has also lost financial support from National Republican groups, as several of his campaign officials have stepped down and his top staffer is set to resign.
A new CNN poll released on Friday shows that the candidate’s chances of winning the race are quickly diminishing, as Democrat Josh Stein is now leading Robinson 53% to 36% among likely voters.
