With Election Day less than a month away, candidates are making their closing arguments and amplifying their message. As candidates for statewide offices released a flurry of new campaign ads Thursday, the Republican candidate for governor made the most of a speech delivered in the Senate chamber a day earlier.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson made his second appearance in the Senate this year on Wednesday as his gubernatorial campaign proceeds. Earlier reporting has shown he attended just five sessions of the chamber he was elected to preside over in 2022 and six sessions in 2023. A key responsibility of the lieutenant governor position is presiding over sessions of the state Senate. 

After the Senate passed a $273 million relief package for Western North Carolina and prepared to adjourn, Robinson launched into a nearly three-minute speech that described his disgust with politics and advised senators to put aside petty politics to be real leaders.

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Related: Mark Robinson veers from treacherous campaign trail to survey disaster in NC mountains

Related: Robinson campaign on defense following CNN report

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Robinson described meeting a young couple who had lost a child last year but showed up to help with flooding relief efforts. 

“I stood there as an elected official and thought about the foolishness of politics, arguments that people have, the accusations that people make against elected officials, the things that we see on TV, the commercials that we make, the campaigns we run, and I, quite frankly, was embarrassed,” Robinson said.

He told the chamber that “we’re not here to play games” and that he would resign if he ever found himself forced to do so. 

“I think each and every one of us should commit ourselves — and I’m sure you have — to double down on our efforts to not be politicians, to not make empty promises, but to be the servant leaders we’re supposed to be.”

Within hours, Robinson had released a video of the speech on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. By Thursday evening, the post had amassed more than 75,000 views and more than 9,000 likes. 

Also on Thursday, Robinson was front and center in an ad released in another race. Sen. Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg, is running for Robinson’s current office and worked to link him to her opponent, Republican Hal Weatherman. 

The ad shows Hunt opening a janitor’s closet and removing a mop, a bucket and a gallon of disinfectant, all of which the candidate says she’ll need if she moves into Robinson’s office in January. 

Hunt’s campaign said the ad, titled “Who’s Worse?,” kicks off a $2 million ad spend. “The ad lays out how Hal Weatherman is worse than Mark Robinson,” a Hunt campaign news release said.

The campaign has raised $3.3 million, setting a record for money raised in a North Carolina lieutenant governor race, according to the release.

Late Thursday, the campaign of Robinson responded to the ad, calling it racist. The disinfectant in the ad — hydrogen peroxide — is a type of bleach and thus also a “whitening agent,” a press release sent by campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said.

“Will the news media report that a white liberal just cut an ad claiming she needs bleach — a common household whitening agent — to clean up the office of the first black Lt. Governor of this state? I suspect not,” Robinson said in the news release.

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Who’s Worse? | Rachel Hunt for North Carolina

Narrator: Who’s worse than Mark Robinson? His choice for lieutenant governor: Hal Weatherman. 

Narrator: Hal Weatherman mocked rape victims, saying girls can be teases. 

Narrator: He’s against abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother. 

Narrator: And Hal Weatherman supports government monitoring of women’s pregnancies. 

Hunt: I’m Rachel Hunt, and as lieutenant governor, I’ll take on extremism in state government. And since I’m moving into Mark Robinson’s office….I’ll start with a gallon of this.

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Meanwhile, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein’s campaign released an ad highlighting comments Robinson has made about abortion. The ad features a Republican woman who calls those comments “repulsive” and “not Republican.”

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Repulsive | Josh Stein for North Carolina

Randi: I’m a lifelong Republican, but I could never vote for Mark Robinson. 

Robinson: We could pass a bill saying you can’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason. 

Robinson: It’s about killing a child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down. 

Robinson: You want to kill that child so your life can go on being on Easy Street and you can keep running to the club every Friday night. 

Robinson: If you don’t like that, that’s too bad.

Randi: That’s not Republican. That’s repulsive. 

Randi: Mark Robinson must never be our Governor.

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In the race for state superintendent of public instruction, Democratic candidate Mo Green debuted the second ad in what the campaign described as a seven-figure statewide ad buy across television, digital and connected TV.

The ad links Green’s opponent, Republican Michele Morrow, to efforts to arm teachers, ban books and defund schools. 

“North Carolina voters have two clear choices for the next State Superintendent of Public Instruction,” Green said in a news release announcing the ad. “In contrast to my opponent, my experience leading major, complex education organizations prepares me to lead 1.3 million students and an annual budget of over $11 billion.”

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“Lead” | Mo Green for NC

Narrator: In the race to lead our public schools there’s a responsible choice and a dangerous choice.

Narrator: A homeschooler, Morrow attacks public schools.

Video clip of Morrow speaking: the public school system has just become an absolute cesspool of evil and lies

Narrator: Morrow’s positions: arm teachers,  ban books, cameras in bathrooms, defund schools 

Narrator: Mo Green, a superintendent who improved graduation rates and academic achievement, Mo supports funding our schools, raising teacher pay and making our schools safe.

Narrator: Vote Mo Green. Our kids depend on it

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For questions or comments, or to pass along story ideas, please write to Clifton Dowell at [email protected] or @StateAffairsNC on X.

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