By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) - Four top aides to North Carolina's Republican candidate for governor resigned on Sunday, three days after CNN reported that he once called himself a "black NAZI!" and proposed bringing back slavery in comments posted on a pornography website.
Mark Robinson, an African American who denied making the comments, announced that his campaign manager, finance director, deputy campaign manager and senior advisor had stepped down from their roles with the campaign without saying why. Robinson currently serves as North Carolina's lieutenant governor.
North Carolina's gubernatorial campaign has implications for the presidential contest on the same day, Nov. 5. The fortunes of high-profile candidates there could affect partisan turnout or enthusiasm in one of the closely divided battleground states that might swing the election between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
The departures further unsettle Robinson's campaign with 45 days to go. He is running against Democratic candidate Josh Stein, the state's attorney general.
"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," Robinson said in a statement.
Robinson, 56, who was endorsed by Trump, has a history of inflammatory comments but denied making the most recently reported statements in a video posted on social media and again in an interview with CNN.
"This is not us. These are not our words. And this is not anything that is characteristic of me," Robinson told CNN on Friday, alleging someone manufactured what he called "salacious tabloid lies."
CNN said the posts, which matched Robinson's social media user name and email address, proposed reinstating slavery, praised Hitler and contained slurs aimed at Blacks, Jews and Muslims. Others were "gratuitously sexual and lewd," CNN said. They dated from 2008 to 2012, before he entered politics.
Reuters was unable to verify the posts, which CNN reported on Saturday had been removed from the porn site.
The North Carolina Republican Party stood by Robinson in a statement on Friday, but Trump, who previously praised Robinson lavishly, did not mention him during a campaign rally in Wilmington on Saturday, and Robinson was not present.