Controversial North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who continues to grab headlines for his comments on race, women, and the LGBTQ+ community, could potentially cost economic growth in the state, particularly for Black residents.
After Democrats in Connecticut indicated that they are eyeing businesses to attract away from North Carolina since Robinson’s primary election win made him the GOP nominee for governor, there is some concern about his rhetoric’s impact on the state’s economy and, more specifically, the state’s Black economy.
The “inflammatory and divisive comments” of Robinson, the state’s current lieutenant governor, could be “alarming” to businesses in North Carolina, argued Connecticut Democratic state senators in a letter to their state’s Department of Economic and Community Development. As a result, the lawmakers said they believe there is a “unique opportunity” to lure businesses to Connecticut.
As theGrio previously reported, Robinson, 55, has made controversial comments about race, like arguing that Black American descendants of enslaved people should pay reparations and that Black gang members and Planned Parenthood did more than the Ku Klux Klan to “eradicate the Black race.” He’s also mused about returning to an America “where women couldn’t vote” and has referred to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people as “filth.”
“Mark Robinson’s hateful rhetoric – including his comments toward the Black community – jeopardizes companies’ desire to be in our state and, consequently, our state’s economy,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, Robinson’s Democratic opponent in the governor’s race, in a statement to theGrio. “Businesses want to set up shop in places where their employees will be supported no matter who they are or where they come from.”
Stein added, “Instead of waging job-killing culture wars like Mark…
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