Who is Yolanda Hill Robinson, Mark Robinson’s wife?

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson is facing pressure to step down as the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate after CNN uncovered controversial, offensive, and, in some cases, criminal posts from Robinson on an online forum. The candidate has said that he will not step aside, and with him leading the top of the ticket at the state level, some political analysts believe by staying in the race, he is handing the state to Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. North Carolina is a critical swing state, which President Joe Biden did not win in 2020, and if the Harris-Walz ticket picks it up, it puts less pressure on their victory in other purple states.

In some of the posts that have been uncovered by reporters and online sleuths, Robinson allegedly claims he has cheated on his wife throughout their relationship.

A controversy of her own

The family of political leaders can often feel the intensity of the spotlight intensify during candles of this nature. Yolanda Hill Robinson, who married the lieutenant governor in 1990, sits in the crossfire with her husband. Earlier this year, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services concluded an investigation into a non-profit run by the second lady and said that she owed $132,000. The Department accused Ms. Hill Robinson of “serious deficiencies” when it came to the handling of federal funds. The non-profit Balanced Food Inc., which she started in 2015, is “dedicated to helping child care providers make the most out of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).” State investigators found that she had violated federal law by not disclosing that family members were among the top earners of the non-profit, and has since announced that the charity would be shutting down.

She and her husband have filed for bankruptcy on three occasions, and in the early 2000s, she was brought to court by the Girl Scouts of America for writing a bad check. The court ordered that she pay $3,486.03 in compensation for her actions.

Before getting involved in public life, Ms. Hill Robinson earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Greensborough.