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North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson spent an hour at Shep’s Grill on Thursday afternoon campaigning and meeting voters. From one wall to the other, Beaufort County voters filled the downtown restaurant all having a shared hope of speaking to and taking a photo with the Republican candidate for governor. 

Beaufort County Register of Deeds and Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, Carolyn Garris, said it was exciting to see Robinson in Washington. 

Beaufort County and rural counties like it “make a big impact in elections,” Garris said. Though they are smaller counties, there are many of them which can “make or break” a race. 

“It’s the smaller counties. You add them up and that’s where you get your votes. But you need to come to these small counties, because they are very important,” she explained.  

Robinson’s plan for eastern North Carolina as a whole is to improve the economies of cities and towns this side of I-95. In his view, eastern North Carolina towns should experience an economic vitality that resembles Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte. 

“You go to Raleigh and Greensboro, Charlotte and those areas and everything is fine. You go east of there and you start seeing I hate to say a lack of opportunity, there’s opportunity there, we’ve just never taken advantage of it,” Robinson said. 

Representative Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort, Dare, Hyde and Pamlico) echoed Robinson’s idea. “We’ve seen for too long for the large areas, metropolitan areas – Raleigh, Fayetteville – those areas have been concentrated on by state government. Mark understands that we need to do more to help the outlying counties. We have people that live here; they need jobs, they need more infrastructure, they need better schools. I think Mark clearly understands that,” he said. Kidwell traveled with Robinson to Pamlico County Thursday morning. 

Voters who want to know more about Robinson and what he has done for the state will likely research him on Google. Rather than getting a list of things he has done, they will be inundated with articles on what he has said. 

Robinson entered North Carolina’s political area six years ago after making a viral speech at a City of Greensboro council meeting in 2018 and has since maintained a steady stream of controversial comments. 

In February of 2019, Robinson posted a selfie video sharing his opinion on abortion. In the video, he says, “It’s about killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down or your pants up — and not get pregnant by your own choice, because you felt like getting your groove thing on. And now instead of taking care of that child, 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.”

In May of 2022, after being elected as Lt. Governor Robinson and his wife Yolanda Hill posted a video to Facebook explaining the “hardest decision” they had to make prior to getting married. Robinson and Hill had an abortion in 1989 a year before they were married or had children. 

Should Robinson be elected as governor and Republicans have a majority in the General Assembly there is a chance an abortion bill could come before him. Robinson has said he would ban abortions for any reason, and would like to see a heartbeat bill, per a conversation Robinson had with Rep. Jeff McNeely on McNeely’s radio show “Taking Care of Iredell.” 

A heartbeat bill would ban abortions starting at five to six weeks gestation when cardiac activity can be measured. 

In March of 2023, Rep. Kidwell filed an abortion bill called the Human Life Protection Act (HB 533) which banned abortions at conception. Threats to the life of the mother were exceptions in the bill. The bill did not make it out of the North Carolina House.  

“A woman’s right to choose with her own body what she wants to do with her own body” is a primary concern of Beaufort County Democratic Party member Timolin Moore, of Washington. Moore alongside other members held a peaceful protest in front of Shep’s while Robinson was inside. 

Moore is concerned that if candidates like Robinson and Donald Trump are elected then many of the rights Americans have now will be stripped away. “They will tell you exactly what to do. You have no more rights at that point.” 

Robinson has also made divisive comments about the LQBTQ+ community and the education system. 

Despite his inflammatory comments, some eastern North Carolina voters believe Robinson shares their values and beliefs. 

“We have the same beliefs. We think alike,” Tony Keech, of Washington said. 

Jonathan Jones, a candidate for District Court Judge, believes he and Robinson share similar views. Jones added that he thinks Robinson can help economies throughout eastern North Carolina grow. “Beaufort County, like a lot of rural counties, is behind some of the larger counties in the state. I think his policies better support not only small businesses, but economic development in eastern North Carolina.” 

Karen Pope, of Northampton County, drove two hours to Washington to see Robinson. Pope recently began learning about Robinson online. Pope said she agrees with Robinson’s view on abortion. 

This week, Emerson College released a poll where 775 likely voters chose between Robinson and Stein. Stein led Robinson in the poll by six percent. Stein was at 47% while Robinson was at 41%.