Mark Robinson is running for governor in swing state North Carolina, where a scandal could affect the outcome of the US presidential race.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina, the Republican nominee for governor, vowed to stay in the race and pre-emptively denied the CNN report, which described years-old online remarks it said he made.

Republican North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson referred to himself as a “Black Nazi,” disparaged Martin Luther King Jr., used antisemitic and homophobic slurs and spoke highly of slavery on a pornographic website before his entrance into politics, according to a new CNN report —as Robinson denies making the comments.