Mark Robinson gets 2nd-degree burns at truck show amid turmoil in campaign

North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson received burns Friday night while attending a truck show as he was campaigning for governor, his campaign said.

Robinson was making an appearance at the Mayberry Truck Show in Mount Airy when he was injured, campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan said in a statement.

Robinson was treated at Northern Regional Hospital in Mount Airy for second-degree burns, he added.

“He is in good spirits, appreciates the outpouring of well wishes, and is excited to return to the campaign trail as scheduled first thing” Saturday morning, Lonergan said.

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Lonergan didn’t immediately respond to texts seeking details on how and where the burns occured. Robinson had made campaign stops starting Friday morning with Moore County Republicans. He has four stops scheduled for Saturday.

Robinson, the lieutenant governor since 2021, is running against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein, the current attorney general. Current Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, was barred by term limits from running this fall.

Many Republicans have distanced themselves recently from Robinson following a Sept. 19 CNN report alleging he posted strongly worded racial and sexual comments on an online message board. A dozen staff members on his campaign or his Lieutenant Governor’s Office have quit in the report’s fallout.

Robinson, who has faced criticism for other inflammatory comments, has denied writing the messages over a decade ago and has hired a law firm to investigate.

Mount Airy, located about 161 kilometres north of Charlotte near the Virginia border, is where the late television star Andy Griffith grew up. The community served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry in The Andy Griffith Show that aired during the 1960s. City leaders have embraced that history with homages and festivals associated with the show.