Like so many GOP state parties throughout the country, the North Carolina Republican Party’s descent into chaos and fringe extremism offers yet another example of how Republicans continue following Donald Trump down the rabbit hole of pushing dangerous conspiracy theories and supporting unpopular plans that would be disastrous for this country. Whether they’re fighting amongst themselves, bleeding cash, or spewing violent, extremist rhetoric, North Carolina voters are seeing how unfit Trump and the NC GOP are to lead. 

Here’s a look at the MAGA mess in North Carolina:

Like Trump, Republicans in North Carolina are struggling financially and have no presence on the ground as their intraparty turmoil continues to alienate North Carolinians.  

Newsweek: “North Carolina GOP Owes $72k in Debt After Burning Through Cash”

WUNC: “So far this election cycle, the state Democratic party has raised $5.26 million for its state and federal campaign accounts. The state Republican Party, meanwhile, has raised over $3.34 million across its accounts.”

WUNC: “Many of the party’s past donors have decided to spend their money elsewhere. ‘I know way too many donors that are on the sidelines right now that are not giving to the Republican Party, because they don’t trust its leadership,’ [Lee County Republican Party Chair Jim] Womack said.” 

NOTUS: “Republicans Can’t Afford to Help Trump Out With His Huge Bond”

“Don’t expect the Republican Party to step in just yet to help former President Donald Trump out with his financial woes: They’ve got too many problems of their own.

“The Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Florida state parties have all reportedly been struggling financially.”

Axios: “Biden campaign opening 10 field offices in North Carolina”

“It also comes as the Republican National Committee struggles to boost staffing levels in battleground states, Axios reported.

“Less than eight months before the Nov. 5 election, significant parts of the RNC’s get-out-the-vote operation in states likely to decide the election are playing catch-up after Trump’s team ousted 60 staffers in its recent takeover.”

WSOC-TV: “The Biden campaign is going hard in the Tar Heel state, investing millions of dollars, and opening 10 field offices, including one in Uptown, with the goal of flipping the state from red to blue.”

Charlotte Observer: “Harris’ latest visit to Charlotte — her third since June and second in as many weeks to North Carolina — marked the opening of 10 campaign field offices across the state. 

“‘Elections matter,’ Harris told the crowd at the Mecklenburg Democrats’ headquarters in uptown. ‘Organizing matters. Showing up matters. Remembering the strength and power of our voice matters.’ 

“The field offices, where organizers put together on-the-ground campaign work to connect with voters, are part of a coordinated effort to staff up in North Carolina, and staff up early, according to the campaign.

“The RNC’s statement did not directly address questions from an Observer reporter about the campaign’s plans in North Carolina, such as future events, advertising campaigns or field office openings.”

Trump-backed candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, will stand side by side with Trump during Saturday’s Wilmington rally. Like Trump, Robinson has a documented record of racist, sexist and dangerous rhetoric that is completely out of touch with North Carolinians. 

HuffPost: “Mark Robinson’s Bizarre Ramble: ‘I Absolutely Want To Go Back To The America Where Women Couldn’t Vote’”

“On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson won the GOP primary to become his party’s nominee for North Carolina governor, presumably with the help of female voters.

“But just four years ago, Robinson invoked a bizarre hypothetical in which he said he’d ‘absolutely’ like to return to the days when the 19th Amendment didn’t exist ― when women didn’t have the right to vote.

“‘I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote,’ Robinson said in a newly resurfaced video of his remarks at a March 2020 event hosted by the Republican Women of Pitt County.

“During this event, Robinson, who was running for lieutenant governor at the time, recalled someone recently asking conservative activist Candace Owens to pick which version of America would make America ‘great again,’ one where ‘Black people were swinging from cheap trees’ or one where women weren’t allowed to vote.

“Robinson said he would definitely return to the days in America when women were denied the right to vote ‘because in those days we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republicans.’”

Washington Post: “N.C. GOP nominee compared Planned Parenthood, men with saggy pants to KKK”

“Planned Parenthood. Men with saggy pants. People who tore down Confederate flags and monuments. The Rev. Al Sharpton.

“Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee in one of this year’s most competitive governor’s races, has declared them all comparable to or worse than the Ku Klux Klan in social media posts that have drawn little attention. The posts are part of a long record of comments ranging from provocative to bigoted that are getting more scrutiny as the campaign heats up in North Carolina — and that some Republicans worry will be a liability in a battleground state.

“Robinson’s references to the KKK, a white-supremacist group that has terrorized Black Americans, underscore the risks Republicans have taken in nominating him — a longtime factory worker who posted a wide range of insults on Facebook before he became a viral hit on the right with a speech about gun laws in 2018. He was elected lieutenant governor of North Carolina in 2020 and won the gubernatorial primary by landslide this month with former president Donald Trump’s endorsement. At a rally, Trump praised Robinson as ‘Martin Luther King on steroids.’”

Donald Trump and Mark Robinson are not the only GOP extremists on the ballot in North Carolina. Donald Trump has emboldened some of the most extreme and bizarre MAGA candidates in the country, like Michele Morrow. 

CNN: “GOP nominee to run North Carolina public schools called for violence against Democrats, including executing Obama and Biden” 

“In other comments on social media between 2019 and 2021 reviewed by CNN’s KFile, Morrow made disturbing suggestions about executing prominent Democrats for treason, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other prominent people such as Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates.

“‘I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad,’ she wrote in a tweet from May 2020, responding to a user sharing a conspiracy theory who suggested sending Obama to prison at Guantanamo Bay. ‘I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.’

“In another post in May 2020, she responded to a fake Time Magazine cover that featured art of Obama in an electric chair asking if he should be executed.

“‘Death to ALL traitors!!’ Morrow responded.

“In yet another comment, Morrow suggested in December 2020 killing Biden, who at that time was president-elect, and has said he would ask Americans to wear a mask for 100 days.

“‘Never. We need to follow the Constitution’s advice and KILL all TRAITORS!!! #JusticeforAmerica,’ she wrote.”