North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein declined to debate Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson as the Republican faces scrutiny over salacious comments he allegedly posted online. Stein and Robinson are engaged in a battle to become North Carolina’s next governor this fall.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the state’s Republican candidate for governor, said he would stay in the race and denied new accusations that he posted racist, antigay and inflammatory comments on a pornography-website message board more than a decade ago.