I still remember the first time I heard of Mark Robinson. I suck at remembering dates, but I remember events pretty well.

Amidst a push in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina to cancel a local gun show, Robinson stood before a podium and gave an impassioned speech defending the right to keep and bear arms. There was really nothing to nitpick about. He was dead-on right about pretty much everything he said.

Now, just a little more than two years after that speech, Mr. Robinson is the Lt. Governor-elect of the state of North Carolina.

Republican Mark Robinson will be North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor, according to projections from the Associated Press cited by local news.

Robinson defeated Democrat Yvonne Lewis Holley, who also could have made history as North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor. Robinson had a lead of more than three percentage points with roughly 75% of ballots counted Wednesday morning, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.

…

Robinson ran as a political outsider. He attracted viral attention in 2018 when he delivered an impassioned speech to the city council of Greensboro, N.C., about gun rights.

Unfortunately, North Carolina opted to keep a Democrat for governor, so Robinson will be working with the opposition.

Regardless, though, Robinson’s story is one we should all pay close attention to. He leveraged a viral speech on the Second Amendment into winning the second-highest office in the state of North Carolina. That’s not too shabby, really.

It should also serve as a warning to North Carolina Democrats not to try and push anti-Second Amendment laws though. While it’s unlikely Robinson can stop them directly, his election–especially how he gained initial name recognition–means that North Carolina voters may be willing to consider candidates from both parties, but they want their guns left the hell alone.

The question now is what happens for Robinson.

Sure, he’ll serve as Lt. Governor, but will that be enough for him, or will he seek higher office? Frankly, I’d love to see him in Congress in the not too distant future. Sure, he needs to serve a term or two as Lt. Governor, but then running for a House seat or even the Senate–he’s already won statewide office, after all–should seem a logical step.

Then again, maybe the governorship is part of his plan. Who knows.

Either way, it all depends on how he does in this office. Based on what I’ve seen of the man, though, there’s zero reason to doubt his ability. Personally, I think North Carolina made a wise decision to side with Robinson. Now, of course, it comes down to the business of getting down to business. Robinson has work to do and so do pro-gun forces throughout the state.

At least they have a staunch ally high up in state government. Even if he can’t affect the outcome of legislation, that’s still a better feeling than being alone in an anti-gun state.

With luck, we’ll see some decent legislation roll out of North Carolina before too much longer. The GOP seems to have held control of the legislature, so we’ll have to see.