Gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson was treated for burns he sustained during his appearance, the campaign said

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Republican lieutenant governor. Mark Robinson He suffered burns Friday night while attending a truck show during his campaign for governor, his campaign said.

Robinson was making an appearance at the Mayberry Truck Show in Mount Airy when he was injured, campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said in a statement.

Robinson was treated for second-degree burns at Northern Regional Hospital in Mount Airy, he added.

“He is in good spirits, is pleased by the many well wishes and is looking forward to returning to the campaign trail first thing as planned,” Lonergan said Saturday morning.

Lonergan did not immediately respond to text messages seeking details about how and where the burns occurred. Robinson had been making campaign stops with the Moore County Republicans starting Friday morning. Four stops are planned for Saturday.

Robinson, lieutenant governor since 2021, is running against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein, the current attorney general. Incumbent Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, was barred from running in the fall due to term limits.

Many Republicans have recently distanced themselves from Robinson after September 19th CNN report He claimed he posted strongly worded racist and sexual comments on an online forum. A dozen employees on the campaign trail or in his lieutenant governor's office have stopped in the wake of the report's fallout.

Robinson, who has been criticized for other inflammatory statements, denied writing the messages more than a decade ago and hired a law firm to investigate.

Mount Airy, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Charlotte near the Virginia border, is where the late television star Andy Griffith grew up. The community served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry on “The Andy Griffith Show,” which aired in the 1960s. City leaders have embraced this history with homages and celebrations related to the show.