Path to Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial defeat began with Coalition Against Robinson’s Extremism (CARE) formation in April 2023

The path to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s crushing gubernatorial defeat began more than a year and a half before the election, back in April 2023, when Progress NC Action and multiple other statewide progressive organizations joined forces to create the Coalition Against Robinson’s Extremism (CARE) following his declaration of candidacy.

When CARE initially launched, it included more than a dozen groups, eventually expanding to more than two dozen. The idea behind CARE was simple: ensure that North Carolinians know who Mark Robinson really is and reject his – and by extension the MAGA brand’s – extremism.

Though Donald Trump won North Carolina, the CARE organization accomplished its goal of electing a Democratic governor, in this case Attorney General Josh Stein, instead of Robinson. In fact, Stein received more votes than any other candidate on the ballot, including Trump, a strong testament to the strength of Governor-elect Josh Stein’s candidacy. 

Not only did Robinson lose, but thanks to CARE’s efforts to tie Republicans to him, the GOP lost their bids for lieutenant governor, attorney general, state superintendent of public instruction and secretary of state, as well as their supermajority in the legislature.

Post-election, it’s easy to look back and say that Robinson never had a chance of winning, especially after CNN’s explosive “Black NAZI” investigation. But to say that would be to deny the reality of Robinson’s popularity and acceptance by both the far-right MAGA element of the Republican Party and the more standard conservative faction. In addition, polling conducted on behalf of CARE told a very different story than the one suggesting he was destined to lose:

In April of this year, internal polling of 1,500 North Carolina likely voters showed Robinson leading Stein by one point (43%-42% with 14% undecided). 

Five months later, in August, and before the CNN report, internal polling of 3,000 North Carolina likely voters showed the gubernatorial race had moved from Stein -1 to Stein +6, including an 11-point net gain in support for Stein among voters of color.

During that five-month period (April-August), CARE, Team Stein, and other allies spent significant money on paid communications to North Carolinians. The bottom line: communicating early and consistently to voters led to folks understanding the threat of a Robinson governorship. 

The story of CARE is a brilliant example of what can be accomplished when organizations coalesce around a common goal and work together to reach that goal. Although Trump won a second term, North Carolina fared far better than any other swing state as voters here rejected MAGA extremists like Robinson, Dan Bishop, Michele Morrow and Hal Weatherman on the state level – and it’s hard to deny that CARE’s work was a huge determining factor in that outcome.