What to know about Mark Robinson, the embattled Republican nominee for North Carolina governor

Republican Mark Robinson's campaign for governor in North Carolina has been rocked by a CNN report that he posted racist and explicit messages on a pornography web site message board more than a decade ago. Some in his party fear the allegations could threaten Donald Trump's standing in a state critical to winning the presidency in November.

While The Associated Press has not confirmed the contents of the report and Robinson denied it, it led to a last-minute push by some Republicans to persuade Robinson to withdraw from the race.

Robinson has refused to do that, standing pat as the latest of a line of populist, outside-the-box Republicans to rise in Trump's shadow.