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Democrat Josh Stein, the current Attorney General of the state, has defeated self-professed "Black Nazi" Republican Mark Robinson in the race for North Carolina governor.
Democrat Josh Stein has been elected as the next governor of North Carolina, Fox News projected, defeating self-professed "Black Nazi" Republican Mark Robinson.
Stein, the current Attorney General of the state, will be the first Jewish governor of North Carolina.He beat Robinson, the currently lieutenant governor, who has repeatedly made headlines for his contentious remarks about the LGBTQ+ community, as well as anti-Semitic comments including Holocaust denial and promoting reading Adolf Hitler.
"Tonight, the people of North Carolina resoundingly embraced a vision that's optimistic, forward-looking, and welcoming," Stein said in his victory speech. "A vision that's about creating opportunities for every North Carolinian. We chose hope over hate. Competence over chaos. Decency over division. That's who we are as North Carolinians, and I am so honored that you have elected me your next governor."
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As Attorney General, Stein has worked to eliminate North Carolina's backlog of untested sexual assault kits, which is currently the largest in the nation. He led the bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General to negotiate a national settlement framework with drug companies for their role in the opioid epidemic. He has also defended the Affordable Care Act and opposed restrictions on abortion, including medication bans and travel bans.
Robinson is currently suing CNN over a report released last month, which found Robinson's full name, picture, and known email address attached to a profile on the pornography website "Nude Africa." In several comments, he seemingly expressed support for reinstating slavery, as well as referred to himself as a "black NAZI!" and called Martin Luther King Jr. “worse than a maggot.”
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Robinson has, among many other examples, also said that transgender people should "find a corner outside somewhere" to defecate instead of a bathroom, referred to LGBTQ+ people as "maggots" and "flies," as well as repeatedly referred to gay people as "British cigarettes" in place of a slur. He also believes the "wickedness" of marriage equality will lead to pedophilia as the "next human right."
Robinson has claimed that once a woman is pregnant “it’s not her body anymore," and has called for bans on reproductive health care, including a ban on abortion for "any reason," despite admitting he took his wife to get one early in their relationship. He recently called for conservatives to kill their opposition by proclaiming "some folks need killing."
"While no place is perfect, I firmly believe that whatever is wrong with our state can be repaired by all that is right. After all, North Carolina is where the Greensboro Four sat down, and the Wright brothers took flight," Stein continued in his speech. "It's where people come together to solve tough problems, and I believe that our best days are ahead of us, not behind us. This is our North Carolina, this is our home. Tonight, let's celebrate this hard-fought victory, and tomorrow, we will get back to work to building a North Carolina that's safer, stronger, and more prosperous for everyone."
This article has been updated to include statements from Stein.
