Mr. Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, vowed to stay in the race and sought to deny the report, which also said he had defended slavery in online posts years ago.

A bombshell report from CNN is tying Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, to disturbing comments made by a user on a porn message board before he entered politics.

Robinson denied the CNN report, which said he referred to himself as a "black NAZI" and expressed support for bringing back slavery more than 10 years ago.