WASHINGTON – Mark Robinson, the radioactive GOP North Carolina gubernatorial candidate in the spotlight because of repugnant posts on a pornographic website, is no longer coming to a North Shore Chicago suburb for a Republican fundraiser on Sept. 29.
Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, a key presidential battleground state, scrubbed the Kenilworth visit, according to a post on the website of the Tenth Congressional District Republican Organization.
On Saturday, the group’s website was no longer promoting Robinson’s event. Instead, on the organization’s “coming events” page, there was this message: “Welcome. Our earlier speaker cancelled, but we have secured a great Trump ally for this event! Stay tuned!”
The Republican officials who organized the event — Mark Shaw, an Illinois Republican Party state central committeeman for the 10th congressional district and chairman of the Tenth Congressional District Republican Organization, and Julie Cho, New Trier Township Republican committeeman — declined to respond to questions on Friday and Sunday.
In my column posted Friday, I reported the fundraiser in Kenilworth was still on despite the CNN bombshell report that more than a decade ago on a pornographic website, Robinson called himself a “black Nazi” and wanted slavery reinstated.
Even before the CNN story, Robinson’s views were out there on old social media posts, including his Holocaust denial — that Jews being sent to concentration camps “is a bunch of hogwash.”
Robinson got a big boost from being endorsed by former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee.
That Robinson got this far — even before the CNN report — with no Republicans condemning him for a history of vile remarks — is testimony to the fear GOP officials who should know better have of crossing Trump or enraging his MAGA base.
Trump campaigned in North Carolina on Saturday, and while he did not mention Robinson — or invite him to his rally — his endorsement of Robinson has not been yanked.
Robinson has denied he authored the offensive posts. South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday that he deserves a chance to defend himself.
“He has an obligation to defend himself,” Graham said. “This is hanging over his campaign. … I don’t think this hurts Trump. But as to Robinson, he’s a political zombie if he does not offer a defense to this that’s credible.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Josh Stein, the North Carolina Democratic candidate for governor, told anchor Jake Tapper he did not believe Robinson’s denials.
“If you look at what he said on the posts, it was in keeping on what he has said publicly on Facebook that are still on his Facebook page. Mark Robinson is absolutely unfit to be the governor of North Carolina. And that was true before your story broke last Thursday. The story has only served to underline and put an exclamation point on that fact. I mean, he embraced Hitler. He compliments Hitler. He says he’s a Nazi. He buys little toy S.S. soldiers. I mean, he says, slavery, he wants to bring it back, things that defy comprehension.”
The Illinois 10th congressional district covers parts of Cook and Lake counties.
Lake County Republican Party Chairman Keith Brin, who told me Friday Robinson should never have been invited in the first place, underscored on Sunday that most local GOP officials had nothing to do with Shaw’s event.
The Robinson fundraiser was supposed to raise money for unspecified “local candidates” and to help the Trump-Vance ticket win swing state Wisconsin.
Shaw is a controversial figure in Illinois GOP politics and was removed as vice chairman of the Republican Party of Illinois last June.
Shaw’s cash has fueled the Tenth Congressional District Republican Organization, according to Illinois State Board of Elections records. As of June 30, the group had only $400 cash on hand with a $17,500 debt to Shaw and no expenditures.
On Sept. 14, Shaw donated $41,000, and on Sept. 9, the other co-hosts of the Robinson event, Chad Proromos and his wife Marilyn, each gave $13,700 to the organization, according to state records.
As I noted Friday, it’s too soon to learn from disclosure records if this money was contributed to Robinson’s campaign or otherwise paid to him.
“Now that it’s canceled,” Brin said Sunday, “I think all of the blame goes on Mark Shaw and his little rogue organization.”