Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Four top aides have resigned from the North Carolina gubernatorial campaign of Mark Robinson in the wake of last week's bombshell allegations that he made racist and lewd comments online years ago.
Campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said Sunday that Conrad Pogorzelski, general consultant and senior advisor; Chris Rodriguez, campaign manager; Heather Whillier, finance director; and Jason Rizk, deputy campaign manager, had left the campaign.
Robinson, a Republican and North Carolina's current lieutenant governor, in a statement thanked the four staffers and said he looks forward to "announcing new staff roles in the coming days."
The four aides resigned after CNN on Thursday reported that Robinson made lewd, racist and sexually explicit comments on a porn website more than a decade ago.
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Though some of the alleged comments contradict the conservative image he tries to project himself to be -- such as allegedly stating he enjoys pornography starring transgender people when he publicly opposes gay and transgender rights -- others are in favor of slavery.
The report from CNN alleges that Robinson wrote anonymously on the porn website that he was a "black Nazi." He is also alleged to have written that "Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves."
Robinson, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has denied the allegations, and has vowed to stay in the race, which polls conducted before the publication of the report showed he was greatly trailing the Democratic nominee, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
"The left needs this election to be a personality contest, not a policy contest because if voters are focused on policy, Republicans win Election Day," he said in a statement on Friday.
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 5.
