North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein declined to debate Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson as the Republican faces scrutiny over salacious comments he allegedly posted online. Stein and Robinson are engaged in a battle to become North Carolina’s next governor this fall.

Donald Trump’s campaign declined to comment Thursday on whether North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whom the former president once described as “Martin Luther King on steroids,” should drop out of the battleground state’s race for governor.

North Carolina's Republican candidate for governor promised to stay in the race on Thursday after CNN reported that he once called himself a "black NAZI!" and proposed bringing back slavery in comments posted on a pornography website.