Mark Robinson comes unglued over Thom Tillis endorsing his opponent | Opinion

For those who missed it over the weekend, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis endorsed someone not named Mark Robinson in the 2024 election for North Carolina’s next governor. Robinson sure isn’t happy about it.

Tillis told National Review that “Mark Robinson’s a good enough guy … But he has virtually no legislative experience, very little business experience,” which is about the softest possible blow he could deal to as easy a target as Robinson.

Tillis has instead thrown his support behind Bill Graham, a wealthy businessman and longtime North Carolina power player. Graham, who only declared his candidacy in October, has pledged to spend $5 million of his own money in the race and was polling second in the GOP primary as of last month.

While it was a significant endorsement in a major race, the fact that it came via a news article on a Friday afternoon during the holiday season suggests that Tillis may not have wanted it to be an especially loud embrace. Rather than letting it go quietly, however, Robinson decided to call attention to it himself — in a nearly 450-word social media diatribe in which he called Tillis “North Carolina’s Mitt Romney.”

“Let’s be clear about what this is. The RINOs are coming after me,” Robinson wrote. “Bill Graham is nothing but a pawn who’s been suckered into spending millions of his own money on a personal vendetta against me that’s being driven by consultants and a RINO senator who was censured by his own party.”

Clearly, Tillis struck a nerve. Robinson’s rant sounded eerily similar to something Donald Trump might post on Truth Social. Indeed, Robinson’s rhetoric toward his political opponents has grown increasingly Trumpian. Earlier this month, at an event in Davie County, Robinson called Republicans who refuse to support him “cowards” and suggested that Jesus Christ would return to Earth to enact vengeance upon them. Robinson is hoping to pick up Trump’s endorsement at a “special event” this week at Mar-a-Lago.

That kind of bare-knuckling may boost Robinson in the Republican primary, but it’s interesting that he thinks he needs it. Robinson has an enormous polling advantage, one that his opponents likely have a slim chance of overcoming. But Graham has deep pockets and is already running statewide TV ads, so he’s probably got the best shot.

As for Tillis being “North Carolina’s Mitt Romney,” it’s a testament to today’s Republican Party that such a moniker is considered an insult. North Carolina could use more leaders like Romney — thoughtful, principled and willing to do the right thing when it matters most. Tillis, once as unflinching a conservative as anyone else in his party, has shown a willingness to eschew partisanship for the greater good of his constituents. That’s something to be applauded, not chastised.

Tillis’s endorsement of Graham is yet another example of that independent thinking. Other prominent Republicans, including Senate leader Phil Berger and U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, have chosen to support Robinson, and Republican lawmakers as a whole have been generally uncritical of him despite his disgraceful antics. Of course, considering Tillis was censured by his own party for daring to support LGBTQ+ marriage equality and gun safety, his endorsement may only carry so much weight in a North Carolina primary. But it suggests that there are some within the party’s upper ranks who question whether Robinson is fit to lead the state, and that could prove to be meaningful ammunition in the general election.

One can only wonder why Robinson thought it wise to bring more attention to an endorsement of an opponent — by his state’s senior senator, no less. Neither Tillis nor Graham made a point to publicize it themselves, on social media or otherwise. That Robinson chose to respond to it suggests one of two things: either he is even more easily provoked than we thought, or he sees Graham as a genuine threat.

This story was originally published December 11, 2023 at 12:51 PM.