Donald Trump’s campaign declined to comment Thursday on whether North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whom the former president once described as “Martin Luther King on steroids,” should drop out of the battleground state’s race for governor.

North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson has vowed to remain in his race despite a CNN media report about comments it says he made on a website.

Mr. Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, vowed to stay in the race and sought to deny the report, which also said he had defended slavery in online posts years ago.