Senate Republicans spoke out Monday about the scandal engulfing Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor, whose campaign imploded following a CNN report exposing X-rated and racist posts on a pornography site.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, declined to say whether he would vote for Robinson in November, saying it was “not important,” but instead said he was committed to helping Donald Trump win North Carolina and would support lesser candidates.
“I’m not going to be campaigning for Robinson,” Tillis told CNN. “What I’m focused on is less important than how I vote.”
While Tillis said he doesn’t expect Robinson’s scandal to hurt Trump’s campaign in the state, he added that he’s “waiting for Robinson to make some kind of statement” and that “if that’s true, he needs to move on.”
Senate Republican Leader John Thune, who is running for Republican leadership in the next Congress, expressed concern that Robinson has “failed to explain” the allegations.
Republican Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina called the allegations “deeply disturbing” but said he still intended to endorse Robinson for governor.
“I’m always going to vote Republican because we have the best policies,” he said.
Meanwhile, Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney slammed Robinson and said he should resign.
“Of course he should step aside. This is outrageous, this is disgusting, this is vile and he needs to have more substance in his efforts to say he didn’t do it,” Romney said.
Senator Lindsey Graham said that if CNN’s report about Robinson was correct it would be “finished” for the candidate, but that if the company was wrong he could be “bankrupt”.
“If you guys are wrong, he’s bankrupt. And if you’re not wrong, he’s finished,” the South Carolina Republican said, pointing at the CNN reporter. “If he can’t credibly refute these accusations, he’s a zombie.”
This post has been updated with additional information.