Will Thom Tillis save North Carolina from Mark Robinson? | Charlotte Observer

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is about “95% sure” that he’ll run for governor in 2024.

But there might be one problem: Robinson is a magnet for bad publicity. And although party leaders don’t publicly condemn his disparaging remarks — of which there have been many — there’s some buzz recently about Republicans doubting whether he’s the right choice for governor.

Rumor has it that party leaders might look for a less controversial candidate to seek the governorship, the North Carolina Tribune reported Tuesday. One of those “less controversial” names they might be hoping for? U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis.

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According to the NC Tribune, there’s a possibility that Republicans might nudge Robinson to run for Congress in 2024 instead. Lawmakers will be redrawing congressional districts sometime before the 2024 elections, which could open up a safe Republican seat for Robinson to run in.

Tillis’s wife, Susan Tillis, even liked a separate tweet from a former Republican legislative staffer that referenced the rumors and encouraged Tillis to run for governor. (There’s another option for Republicans, too: State Treasurer Dale Folwell.)

It’s not hard to see why anyone might doubt Robinson. He frequently makes headlines for derogatory comments toward just about everyone, most of all LGBTQ people. He’s bragged about owning assault weapons just in case he ever needs to take up arms against a tyrannical government (although he is part of the government) and said that Christians are “called to be led by men” and not women.

But if a Republican not named Mark Robinson is going to run for governor, it’s hard to imagine it’d be Thom Tillis. It’s unlikely that he’d want to give up a powerful position in Washington, and it’s not clear that he’d make it out of a primary in North Carolina. His participation in the Senate’s gun law compromise has angered more conservative voters, who have started calling him “Traitor Thom.” As a senator, Tillis has become someone that both conservatives and progressives are often frustrated with — the latter due to his frequent flip-flopping with Donald Trump. That bipartisan dissatisfaction was why Tillis may have been just one Cal Cunningham affair away from being out of a Senate job in 2020.

There’s a real question, too, about whether there’s any truth to the rumor that Republicans are unhappy with Robinson. Few, if any, GOP leaders are openly condemning Robinson’s behavior, the way they eventually did with U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn. Despite the controversies, Robinson still seems to be doing quite well in polling and fundraising — which might be why his recent antics have been met with crickets from party leaders. If the past several years have taught us anything, it’s that you can say a lot of terrible things and your party will stand by you. You can even become president.

Still, if the GOP’s tolerance for Robinson is indeed beginning to run thin, that’s noteworthy. Tillis might not answer the call to run for governor, but he played a critical role in Republicans turning against Cawthorn earlier this year. Once the GOP decided Cawthorn was a liability, Tillis helped bring him down, publicly criticizing Cawthorn and endorsing his primary opponent, state Sen. Chuck Edwards.

Will the same happen with Robinson? He presents a similar threat to the party as someone who’s shown a capacity and eagerness to ignore boundaries of politics and decency. His rhetoric — and his grabs for attention — are getting worse. But thus far, Republicans appear wary to take him on and risk alienating the many GOP voters who support him. It’s unlikely that will change anytime soon.

This story was originally published June 15, 2022 1:09 PM.