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An advertisement for a North Carolina Democrat’s campaign tries to tie his Republican opponent to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee who has called for more abortion restrictions.
State Rep. Terence Everitt, D-Wake Forest, who paid for the ad, is hoping to represent his region in the state Senate. He’s running against Republican political newcomer Ashlee Adams, a businesswoman and the ad’s target.
“Ashlee Adams is working with Mark Robinson to take abortion rights away,” a narrator in Everitt’s ad says. The narrator goes on to say Adams “campaigned for Mark Robinson and his radical agenda.”
The ad then plays a clip of Robinson saying: “You could pass a bill saying you can’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason.”
Political analysts believe the race for the open Senate seat will be one of the closest in the state — and Adams’ stance on abortion could be a key factor in the race. The district she’s competing for includes parts of populous Wake County, which is among the state’s most liberal counties. But the district is considered a toss-up since it also contains all of conservative Granville County.
Everitt’s ad didn’t list any citations to support its claims about Adams campaigning for Robinson or his agenda. Also, the clip of Robinson is ambiguous and may not fully represent Robinson’s stance on the issue.
So, we contacted Everitt’s campaign and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Neither produced evidence that Adams ever campaigned for Robinson or endorsed his agenda.
Adams on Robinson
Asked for evidence that Adams campaigned for Robinson, an Everitt spokesperson said the Adams campaign posted a voter’s guide on its Facebook Aug. 25 that listed Robinson as the Republican gubernatorial candidate. The voter’s guide was assembled by the Republican Women’s Club of Granville County.
The post doesn’t appear on Adams’ Facebook page. An Aug. 25 post on the Adams campaign Facebook page does show a Republican voter’s guide — but one that doesn’t include Robinson’s name.
The Everitt campaign and the state Democratic Party believe Adams’ campaign posted a guide that included Robinson’s name but later took it down. The state Democratic Party provided an image that it claims is a screenshot of the original post.
“Ashlee Adams distributed a voter guide featuring her and Mark Robinson; that post, which encourages folks to vote for Mark Robinson, has since been deleted,” said Tommy Mattocks, a spokesperson for the state Democratic Party.
In a telephone interview, Adams told PolitiFact NC that she doesn’t recall posting anything about Robinson or deleting any Facebook post about his candidacy.
This is Adams’ first run for office. She said she never endorsed Robinson, campaigned with him, or worked with him in any capacity.
“I met him for about six seconds for one event in Wake Forest at a restaurant called Patronies,” Adams said of a Republican candidate forum on Aug. 6.
“He was walking out of the door and I was walking into the door to give my speech,” she said. “That was it.”
PolitiFact NC found no evidence of Adams endorsing Robinson or campaigning for him.
Adams and Robinson on abortion
Everitt’s campaign ad uses a quote from Robinson that may not accurately reflect his stance on abortion. Robinson’s position on abortion has been a moving target.
He once referred to abortion as murder and has called for tightening North Carolina’s abortion laws. He previously said he opposes exceptions to to the law for issues such as rape or incest.
In November 2023, Robinson’s campaign spokesperson, Michael Lonergan, said the lieutenant governor would support what’s known as a heartbeat bill and exemptions “for extreme situations like rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger.” A heartbeat bill typically bans abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy.
Then, in August, Robinson’s campaign released an ad that said he supports the state’s current law, which limits most abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy while allowing for some exceptions. The ad didn’t say whether Robinson would sign or veto a bill that called for more restrictions if elected governor.
Asked about Robinson’s abortion comments, Adams said “I have never approved or endorsed anything like that.”
Mattocks, the state Democratic party spokesperson, noted that Adams has had numerous opportunities to disavow Robinson and his views — on her own websites and on candidate questionnaires — but hasn’t.
Adams says she hasn’t disavowed Robinson because she never endorsed him in the first place, and Robinson hasn’t endorsed her either. On Oct. 10, Adams’ campaign launched a television ad rebutting the claims about her in Everitt’s ad.
“I will never vote for an extreme abortion ban and I fully support common sense exceptions and your right to IVF treatment,” she said, referring to fertility treatment. “These ads from Terence Everitt — they are lies from a desperate politician.”
Adams told PolitiFact NC that she supports North Carolina’s current abortion law. Adams previously worked as a trauma nurse at WakeMed Raleigh, and said the experience influenced her views on the issue.
“I’ve held the hand of a woman as she passed away from a back alley abortion,” Adams said.
PolitiFact NC asked Adams whether she would support any additional abortion restrictions.
“Until I get into office and see a bill that’s in front of me, I can’t answer that,” Adams said. “I can’t imagine right now that I would” vote for any additional restrictions, she said.
Our ruling
Everitt’s campaign ad claims Adams “campaigned for Mark Robinson and his radical agenda.”
Neither Everitt’s campaign nor the state Democratic Party produced any hard evidence — such as photos or video — showing that Adams ever campaigned with Robinson. Nor did they cite any news stories or recordings of Adams endorsing Robinson or his abortion views.
We rate this claim False.
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