Under the Dome: Governor’s race goes on after Helene, but another campaign pauses

Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter. I'm Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan. The catastrophic impact and destruction in areas of Western North Carolina because of Hurricane Helene, which reached the state on Friday, is still being measured.

Over the weekend, the major party candidates for governor held campaign events. Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein campaigned in Greensboro with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Sunday. He also posted photos on social media at a campaign event Saturday in Chapel Hill.

On Friday, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson held multiple campaign events. He was treated for burning his hand at the Mayberry Truck Show & Parade in Mount Airy that night. He posted video on social media the next day with his hand bandaged, and another on Monday with no bandage. A conference in Marion where Robinson was scheduled to speak Saturday was canceled, but Robinson posted photos Saturday of campaign events in Caswell County and Randolph County, including of him thanking supporters, and posted campaign photos from Hickory on Sunday.

Both Robinson and Stein shared messages about how to support Western North Carolinians amid the devastation. Robinson also posted about working, as lieutenant governor, to help gather and send supplies with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. On Monday afternoon, Robinson posted a video of himself with law enforcement officers near a washed-out road , telling people not to travel there.

Stein has not announced any campaign events this week. Robinson has two meet-and-greet events planned for Friday, in Person and Alamance counties. Former President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he will campaign in Fayetteville on Friday.

In at least one Western North Carolina campaign, the approach to Helene has been different from those in the governor's race.

House Republicans have suspended campaign ads in a competitive state House race in Buncombe County. House GOP Caucus Director Stephen Wiley told The N&O on Monday that they have paused digital and television ads in the House District 115 race, in which Republican candidate Ruth Smith is trying to unseat incumbent Rep. Lindsey Prather.

Here's what else the Under the Dome politics team has been working on as we cover the fallout from Hurricane Helene:

President Joe Biden defended Gov. Roy Cooper and the response to Helene after comments by former President Donald Trump. See what's actually happening in our Reality Check – and in the newsroom's full coverage of the storm's aftermath.

See what Western North Carolina Reps. Virginia FoxxChuck Edwards said about what they're seeing on the ground in this story from Danielle Battaglia.

Biden says he expects to be in North Carolina on Wednesday. Michael Wilner of McClatchy DC reports on what Biden said Monday as he updated the country on Helene's destruction.

In another Reality Check , Kyle Ingram explains why the storm could make voting more difficult for people in Western North Carolina – and how new laws play into that.

Have you been affected by Helene? What you need to know to apply for FEMA aid , from Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi.

Poll watch

East Carolina University is out with a new poll on Monday, the first we've seen as fallout continues for Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in the wake of a bombshell CNN report tying him to a series of antisemitic, racist and explicit posts on a pornography website.

Robinson has dropped significantly not just in the race, but among Republican voters. Read more about the poll in my story.

VOTER GUIDE

In the latest candidate questionnaires from our, see what candidates for secretary of state have to say about the issues, and learn more about their biographies. Two candidates answered our questions:

Chad Brown

Elaine Marshall

Check your inbox tomorrow for more questionnaires, and lots more #ncpol news.