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Gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s personal story centers on an arc of moral redemption that began in the late 1980s, and his fiery public speeches and policy initiatives often criticize those who don’t ascribe to his conservative interpretation of Christianity–particularly when it comes to sexuality and gender issues. 

But Robinson has admitted his own path to morality wasn’t straightforward. 

“I did not, however, experience a drastic conversion like some do,” he wrote in his 2022 memoir about when he committed his life to Jesus. “My behavior did not immediately reform. They say sin is fun for a season, and I was in that season.” 

There’s been a lot of reporting about what Robinson said and wrote online in the past. But there’s been less vetting of what his life looked like day to day before he became a public figure. 

For today’s story, we spent several weeks researching online claims about Robinson frequenting Greensboro’s video porn shops in the 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to the initial allegations, five other regulars or employees of those establishments back up the claims, describing the man who would become lieutenant governor as a frequent, gregarious visitor and renter.

Ex-Porn Shop Employees Say Mark Robinson Was A Regular. He Denies It.

After he embraced Christianity in the late 1980s, the GOP candidate for governor says his behavior “did not immediately reform.” Six men say Robinson frequented video-porn shops in the ’90s and early 2000s.

Robinson has explained past behavior through the lens of his religious redemption. But his campaign has vehemently denied these accounts as “complete and total fiction” and dismissed our reporters as “degenerates.” 

While the alleged visits were legal, and personal choices are generally outside our editorial purview, Robinson frames much of his campaign through the lens of public morality. His fellow Republicans have taken steps to limit access to online pornography in the state, and Robinson himself has decried public school teachers as bureaucrats “who believe it’s OK to feed your children a steady diet of communism and pornography.”

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

Radio Waves

Last week, WUNC’s Due South featured Ben Rappaport’s recent story on the abandoned pools of Columbus County that we produced in collaboration with Border Belt Independent.

Reporter Ren Larson appeared on WFAE to talk about her reporting on the $55 million state allocation to a private, Charlotte-based Olympic training center.

And Johanna Still appeared on WHQR to talk about the new leader of the $1.3 billion New Hanover Community Endowment.

What We’re Reading

Mistaken Identity: Asheville Watchdog looks at how a Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the wrong man led to an additional fentanyl-by-mail death.

Ctlr+Alt: Continuation of the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly could come down to just one or two races. The New York Times reports from a few places that could decide control.

Trump Bump: USA Today visits Robeson County to probe how Donald Trump is winning over Lumbee and other Native voters.

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