Mark Robinson breaks down his goals for governor
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson speaks to Hood Hargett Breakfast Club at Charlotte restaurant CharBar7. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, described a strategy to capitalize on North Carolina's strong economy and defended himself against his mounting list of criticisms during a small business luncheon in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Much attention around Lt. Gov. Robinson's race has focused on his past controversial remarks, and little is widely known about his platform. But for an uninterrupted 15 minutes this week, he got the mic.
- "Don't let them tell you I'm going to go into office and be some wild, crazy culture warrior," Robinson said.
The big picture: Robinson's rise to political prominence parallels that of former President Donald Trump, as both are known to be outspoken and controversial in a way that appeals to their fan bases.
- Many Republicans offended by Robinson's personality may still be willing to give him their vote — like they did for Trump — if he can convince them of his economic policies.
- Tuesday, before a group of local business professionals invested in the state economy, was Robinson's opportunity to do that.
What he's saying: Robinson said his campaign is about the economy and public education. Tackling those two issues, he said, would take "North Carolina to places it has not gone before."
- He said he would boost the economy by addressing the pillars it stands on: public safety, public education, health care, infrastructure and housing.
- To do that, he said as governor he would handpick the people who run the state agencies that impact those areas, such as the Department of Public Safety. He said departments like the DMV need modernizing to ensure "we're not working on government time, but we're working on business time."
- He said he'll prioritize creating opportunity, especially for people in eastern and western North Carolina, and making investments to grow the economy while it's performing well, as a best-in-business state with a budget surplus.
Speaking deeper on public education, he said North Carolina spends more than half its budget on public education. Yet, children can't read on grade level.
- He spoke of raising teacher pay and preparing students for careers, not just a four-year college.
- To improve the school system, he said the state needs to remove "bureaucrats" who are not adding value to the classroom and repurpose their salaries for teacher raises.
- "We need to remove political or social agendas from the classrooms and get back to teaching reading, writing and mathematics," he said.
Yes, but: Robinson has been an advocate of the school choice movement and voucher programs, which use public funds to subsidize private school tuition.
Zoom out: Taking questions from the audience, Robinson defended himself against ads related to his former daycare.
- He said he was proud of the establishment, which state inspectors cited for dozens of violations, including some falsified documents, News & Observer reported. Robinson said the ads used footage that wasn't of his daycare and testimonials from people who had never been there.
- He responded to a question about a video in which he says abortion is about "killing the child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down." He said the clip cut off before he added: and "your pants up."
"Running for governor's been tough," Robinson said at the start of his appearance.
What's next: Robinson's Democratic opponent in the governor's race, Attorney General Josh Stein, will speak in front of the same business group in late October.