The Republicans Opposing Mark Robinson for Governor

 

It won't be enough to stop him. But there are pockets of resistance to the inevitability of Mark Robinson's winning the Republican nomination for governor. On one side is mega-Republican strategist Paul Shumaker, presumably speaking for what's left of the NCGOP "establishment." Shumaker sees disaster coming with Trump and Robinson at the top-of-the-ticket in NC in 2024, because that duo of candidates will turn off the Unaffiliated voters, who are more numerous now than either Democrats or Republicans.

On the other side is Brant Clifton of The Daily Haymaker, an extreme-MAGA conservative who considers Mark Robinson a trainwreck in the making and who just incidentally considers Paul Shumaker a RINO and a loser because Shumaker was the chief strategist for both Richard Burr and Thom Tillis and most recently went down in flames trying to get Pat McCrory through the US Senate primary in 2022. But now Clifton and Shumaker are in bed together in opposing Robinson.

Clifton has been pummeling Robinson (and Robinson's wife) for weeks on his Daily Haymaker blog for "sketchy" business practices and for slopping at the Federal trough, among other "character flaws."

Clifton favors state Treasurer Dale Folwell in the primary. Maybe some evangelicals favor the third candidate, Mark Walker, but probably not enough to slow down Robinson's momentum. Robinson has captured the MAGA crowd and the evangelicals with his "bullying-the-elite" message and manner, which makes him the perfect ballot mate for Donald Trump.

John Steed, a Republican activist in Beaufort County (who doesn't come out and say he's supporting Robinson, but we have to assume), wrote recently that "the GOP left" is pushing "RINO Steve Troxler" for governor. Troxler has not announced anything other than he's stepping down from his Agriculture Commissioner job and might be open to "new opportunities." Troxler is very popular with rural Republicans, but to John Steed he's a RINO because he once upon a time helped John Edwards in his race for US Senate.

"The GOP left"? Where do they hold their meetings?