The fallout continues for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson after scandalous details of his sordid online activity seemingly doomed the Republican nominee’s bid for governor.
On Wednesday, WRAL News reported that senior staff members in the lieutenant governor’s office plan to resign in the coming days.
Those staff members include: Brian LiVecchi, Robinson’s chief of staff and general counsel; Director of Communications John Wesley Waugh; Policy Director Jonathan Harris; and Director of Government Affairs Nathan Lewis. The New York Times confirmed LiVecchi’s resignation.
This is just the latest piece of bad news for Robinson, whose campaign has been rocked by controversy that culminated in a damning CNN report published on Sept. 19. The investigation uncovered the misogynistic Republican’s lewd and racist online posts in the comment forums of a pornographic website. Robinson has denied the report, vaguely blaming artificial intelligence and “a billionaire’s son” for the scandal.
News that the lieutenant governor is losing key staff members comes just days after multiple senior campaign officials, including his campaign manager, deputy campaign manager, finance director, and a senior adviser, announced their own plans to leave Robinson’s sinking ship.
Robinson has stubbornly insisted he will continue his gubernatorial campaign, even while quickly becoming a pariah within his party. MAGA cult leader Donald Trump is pretending not to know the man he recently called “better than Martin Luther King,” while other GOP politicians who once championed the bigoted Robinson have rushed to distance themselves, too.
What Wednesday’s news means for the people of North Carolina is an open question. Because the lieutenant governor’s staffers focus on the logistics of his day-to-day operations, losing four top advisers is no small matter. Robinson’s fellow Republicans criticized him for being an absentee lieutenant governor long before the latest scandal.
Blue Ridge Public Radio shed some light on Robinson’s work habits on Monday. The report detailed how Robinson tasked senior staff members like LiVecchi and Harris to sit in on important board meetings and even chair the Energy Policy Council that Robinson is responsible for.
In fact, when contacted for that very story, director of communications Waugh said, “The lieutenant governor is deeply committed to his duties, consistently staying informed on the activities of every board and commission our office serves on and is continuously in communication with lawmakers and legislative leadership.”
Now Waugh is on the list of those reportedly resigning.
