NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson suffers second-degree burns at campaign event

Mark Robinson, North Carolina's Republican candidate for governor, was treated at a hospital after suffering burns at a campaign event Friday evening in Mount Airy, his campaign said.

Robinson's campaign said he suffered second-degree burns at a truck show.

"This evening following an incident at a campaign appearance at the Mayberry Truck Show in Mt. Airy, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was treated at Northern Regional Hospital for second-degree burns. He is in good spirits, appreciates the outpouring of well wishes, and is excited to return to the campaign trail as scheduled first thing tomorrow morning," Mike Lonergan, the campaign's communications director, said in a statement.

Robinson, the lieutenant governor of the state, has been embroiled in controversy since being accused of posting inflammatory comments on the message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago, according to a report published by CNN earlier this month. Robinson has denied he made the comments and claimed the allegations were "salacious tabloid lies."

Since the release of the report, several of Robinson's key staffers have "stepped down" from the campaign, including general consultant and senior advisor Conrad Pogorzelski, III; campaign manager Chris Rodriguez; finance director Heather Whillier; and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk.