The party is prohibited from selecting a replacement who already ran in the same race in this year’s primary. That means State Treasurer Dale Folwell and attorney Bill Graham would not be allowed to replace Robinson.

Rumors swirled of Robinson facing pressure from his own party to drop out of the governor's race ahead of a graphic story that was published Thursday.

CBS 17 also learned Thursday that the lieutenant governor’s office at the state legislative building had been cleared out.

Yahoo Sports

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) on Thursday said he’s staying in the gubernatorial race following speculation throughout the day that he might drop out in response to an explosive CNN report.