Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina backed by former President Donald Trump, was already known as a far-right candidate who seemed to alienate voters in a key swing state. New revelations about his inflammatory comments on a porn website and his sexual escapades have now shocked even some of his Republican colleagues.

CNN reported Thursday that Robinson regularly posted on a porn website’s message board between 2008 and 2012. In those posts, he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!”, supported the reinstatement of slavery, called himself a “pervert” for liking transgender porn and admitted to “watching” women in public showers as a teenager. The posts were found on the website “Nude Africa.”

Although he now supports a law banning abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, he also said in the forum that he wouldn’t care if a celebrity had an abortion, although he “wants to see the sex tape!” And although he would be the first black governor of North Carolina if elected, he called Martin Luther King Jr. a “communist bastard.”

Robinson’s email was also linked to an account on Ashley Madison, an online dating website for people looking for an affair.

Robinson, the current lieutenant governor of North Carolina, denied writing the posts, and his campaign said he did not open an Ashley Madison account.

Still, several North Carolina Republicans, including some who are running in a closely contested race this fall, later pressured him to drop out of the race to succeed incumbent Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited. He has chosen to stay in the race, in which polls last month have him trailing his Democratic rival, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, by between 5 and 14 percentage points.

In this way, in a state with a clear majority of lower-tier Republicans, Robinson could potentially not only win the Republicans’ electoral victory, but possibly Trump as well.

“We have very few examples of reverse turnout, where a candidate lower on the ballot hurts the front-runners,” Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, told Vox. “But if anyone could do it, it’s this guy.”

The current scandals are not the first time Robinson has been involved in controversy.

He has hurled hateful remarks at everyone from Michelle Obama to the survivors of the Parkland school massacre. He has called the LGBTQ community “trash.” He has threatened to use his AR-15 against the government if it “gets too big for its britches,” and he wants to ban all abortions and return to a time when women didn’t have the right to vote. He has also ridiculed the Me Too movement, women in general, and climate change.

It seems Robinson is also willing to engage with all manner of conspiracy theories. He denies the Holocaust and has a long history of anti-Semitic statements. He has suggested that the 1969 moon landing may have been a fake, that 9/11 was an “inside job,” that the music industry is controlled by Satan, and that billionaire Democratic donor George Soros orchestrated the 2014 Boko Haram kidnappings of schoolgirls.

Despite all of this, Robinson not only won his party’s nomination for the state’s most powerful office, but did so with a margin of more than 45 percent over his opponents. The other Republican candidates, trial lawyer Bill Graham and state Treasurer Dale Folwell, expressed concerns about Robinson’s electability, but ultimately neither could match his name recognition or MAGA credentials in a state that had twice voted for Trump.

Robinson could be an ideal opponent for Democrats – not just in the governor’s race, but also in the presidential and lower-ballot races. Robinson could have a hard time winning over the more than 35 percent of GOP voters who turned against him in a contentious primary. Republican leaders certainly seem concerned.

“We knew (he was extreme), but I still find the revelations of the last 24 hours breathtaking,” former Rep. David Price (D-NC) told Vox. “I think Republican leaders know that, too. It’s a turning point for Robinson, who now has the support of even the most loyal Republican supporters.”

Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina told The Hill the reports about Robinson were “not good.” And Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said they were “very concerning.”

“I hope the lieutenant governor can reassure the people of North Carolina that the allegations are not true,” he said. “He has said they are not true. I think he needs to have the opportunity to explain to the people of North Carolina exactly why these allegations are not true.”

The fact that even Republicans are distancing themselves from Robinson suggests that the tide in North Carolina could continue to turn in Democrats’ favor.

That doesn’t mean Robinson will deliver a big win for Democrats, though. According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are virtually tied in the state. And since Barack Obama won the state in a surprise 2008 victory, Republican candidates have won three presidential elections in North Carolina — including Trump twice. The state has remained on the red side of purple despite a tradition of split-ticket voting. That’s what has enabled Cooper’s two wins and reinforced the belief that the state could be within reach of Democrats.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to celebrate because there’s so much more at stake than just the gubernatorial election,” Price said. “We know how close this is.”