4 senior members of the Mark Robinson campaign have resigned, campaign says

CHARLOTTE — Four members of the Mark Robinson for Governor campaign have resigned, according to a release from the campaign.

Conrad Pogorzelski, III, general consultant and senior advisor; Chris Rodriguez, campaign manager; Heather Whillier, finance director; and Jason Rizk, deputy campaign manager; have stepped down from their roles with the campaign.

The resignation announcement comes just days after an explosive story from CNN alleges Lt. Governor and Republican nominee for Governor Mark K. Robinson made dozens of disturbing comments on a porn forum in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery.

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Robinson released the following statement:

“I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors. I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days.

“My campaign will continue to focus on the substantive issues at stake in this election: building an economy that grows from Murphy to Manteo; cutting taxes and eliminating unnecessary red-tape; removing politics out of our classrooms; and cracking down on violent crime and dangerous drugs.

“Polls have consistently underestimated Republican support in North Carolina for several cycles now and with a large portion of the electorate still undecided as we continue to ramp up our efforts across the state, I am confident our campaign remains in a strong position to make our case to the voters and win on November 5.”

An announcement of new staff members will be released from the campaign.

WATCH: Mark Robinson allegedly calls himself ‘black NAZI,’ supports slavery in porn site comments