Josh Stein’s unsurprising victory in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race was one of the earlier results to be called on election night. What’s truly surprising, however, is that a self-proclaimed Nazi still received support from just over 40% of North Carolinians who cast their vote.

Robinson’s disgusting and reprehensible views on gay and transgender rights, gun safety and abortion aren’t a secret, and they’re far from new knowledge. I won’t beat a dead horse; Technician has covered plenty regarding the lieutenant governor’s bigotry. Additionally, many major news outlets have discussed Robinson’s controversies, which is why I cannot fathom how this man could get even one person to vote for him.

It’s possible that Robinson was able to retain more than a handful of supporters because he repeatedly denied allegations against him. He denied having said on online porn forums that slavery is not bad and that he is a perv with an affinity for transgender porn. And why listen to the woke liberal media when you can easily take Robinson at his word?

Even scarier than Robinson’s lies is our president-elect Donald Trump’s admiration of him. In a rally earlier this year, Trump endorsed Robinson and compared him to Martin Luther King Jr., stating, “I think you are Martin Luther King times two.” 

Whatever that means.

Trump and his campaign team were noticeably silent after Robinson’s scandal came out — likely due to North Carolina being a key battleground state in the election and not wanting to disrupt the conservative peace — with Trump even claiming to be “unfamiliar” with North Carolina’s governor’s race.

This raises larger concerns over how far citizens will go for the sake of party-line voting, or the practice in which members of one political party tend to vote the same way. 

Recently, Americans have caught a glimpse of hope with numerous Republicans, including Dick Cheney and Stephanie Grisham, speaking against voting for Donald Trump, but the rejection of a politician due to their threats to democracy and general human decency apparently did not trickle down to North Carolina’s governor race.

In his concession speech, Robinson suggested he may run for governmental offices in the future, and in the past, he has expressed interest in running for a U.S. Senate seat. The Senate and House are either confirmed or trending red in the 2024 election, and support for Robinson across North Carolina makes him a not improbable candidate to take a seat in the 2026 midterm elections.

After all, I did see numerous “Mark Robinson Governor” signs still littered — yes, like trash — in people’s yards and along streets the morning of Nov. 6 despite his clear loss on election night.

With Stein winning the race for governor, I have a small degree of hope for our state and country, at least in the immediate future. However, I have limited hope for the long-term future if Americans continue to vote along party lines without considering the implications of electing someone so abhorrent to humanity. It is imperative that between now and the next time Robinson is up to bat for a governmental office, North Carolinians and Americans alike reflect on the values our elected officials should carry.

The threat of Robinson is like a dormant volcano, and I have no idea if I can trust my fellow North Carolinians to keep it from erupting.