RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee in the North Carolina governor’s race, gave his thoughts on abortion rights during a meet and greet in Mecklenburg County on Friday, while also criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ position on the issue.
In his speech, Robinson accused Democrats of not focusing on issues such as the economy, public education, and law enforcement, which he argued were the biggest issues in the nation and North Carolina. He referred to the Democrats’ focus on abortion rights as “misdirection” from these issues.
The lieutenant governor argued abortion is a state issue, noting the US Supreme Court ruled the federal government did not have authority on abortion rights. He criticized Harris for saying she would restore federal protection of abortion rights during her debate with former president Donald Trump on Tuesday.
“Kamala Harris wants to talk about [abortion] at the federal level,” Robinson said. “I watched that debate and thought to myself, lady are you stupid or are you deaf? What is wrong with you? The Supreme Court has spoken at the federal level and said the federal government has no business in that.”
Robinson stated the Supreme Court decision gave people in North Carolina more power over abortion rights. He said abortion rights in the state are controlled by the consensus from North Carolina residents and that consensus was echoed by state lawmakers, who implemented an abortion ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions of rape or incest.
Abortions in North Carolina were previously banned after 20 weeks. Robinson criticized his Democratic opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, and Gov. Roy Cooper for opposing the state’s current 12-week ban.
“They want to talk about abortion, but they’re not going to talk about where to stand,” the lieutenant governor said. “Have you heard Josh Stein’s opinion on abortion? Where does he stand? Where do we stop, Josh? Do we stop at 15 weeks, 20 weeks, 25 weeks, or do we stop at nine months? He won’t give you his opinion because he’s beholden to somebody else besides you. I will. I don’t mind sharing my opinion, but I also don’t mind being mature enough to go along with consensus.”
In addition to arguing Democrats were deflecting from more important issues by focusing on abortion rights, Robinson said the work of the Republican-controlled state legislature demonstrated the success of conservative policies.
“We’re not just on the right, we are right,” Robinson said. “We are right about everything. We proved it with our policies and the results they yield.”
Throughout the governor’s race, Robinson has been accused of seeking further restrictions against abortion in North Carolina, with his campaign stating earlier this year that he supported a six-week abortion ban. A year before he was elected lieutenant governor, Robinson also called abortion “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down”, a clip that has been featured in Stein’s campaign ads.
Robinson has since indicated support for the state’s current 12-week abortion ban, which he expressed in a campaign ad about how he paid for his wife to have an abortion.
An Eastern Carolina University poll from earlier this month shows Stein leading Robinson by six points, 47% to 41%. Among women, Stein leads Robinson 50% to 36%.
