He quoted Hitler. He called LGBT people ‘filth’. And now he could become North Carolina’s next governor

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson revels in making offensive remarks – with a history that includes comparing abortion to slavery, quoting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, and referring to LGBT+ people as “filth”.

And soon, he could take on the top job in the state.

As the state’s first African American lieutenant governor, Mr Robinson secured theRepublican nomination for North Carolina governor on Super Tuesday, setting him up to take on Democrat Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general since 2017, in the November race. Polling has been inconclusive, with both candidates ahead in some surveys.

When it became clear that Mr Robinson would win the nomination on Super Tuesday, the Democratic Governors Association quickly set the tone for the upcoming campaign.

“Mark Robinson — a dangerous conspiracy theorist — is now the Republican nominee for North Carolina governor,” the association wrote on X.

“He wants to completely ban abortion with no exceptions and bring back NC’s notorious bathroom ban. We have to defeat him.”

Mr Robinson meanwhile has previously claimed that “the establishment is scared because I can’t be controlled”.

The Independent has attempted to reach Mr Robinson for comment.

Growing up as the ninth of ten children in Greensboro, Mr Robinson has said that his father was an abusive alcoholic, according to the News & Record.

After high school, he served in the Army Reserve, before going to university and subsequently working at a number of furniture factories and taking classes with the goal of becoming a history teacher, WRAL reported in 2022. He dropped out before completing his degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

He has said that his political interest grew after reading a