NC Gov. Mark Robinson was treated for second-degree burns after touching the tailpipe at a campaign rally

CNN
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North Carolina Gov. Mark Robinson was treated for second-degree burns Friday after what he said was his hand burned by a “big truck” he was driving at the Mayberry Truck Show and Parade in Mount Airy Supporters at a campaign rally on Saturday.

“I just got out of the truck and several of my fans and supporters came around the truck. I tried to get out without getting in their way and I would have been damned if I didn't put my hand on the exhaust pipe,” Robinson said, showing off his bandaged hand. “I'm fine. It's just a minor second degree burn and it's completely fine.”

Mike Lonergan, communications director for Robinson's gubernatorial campaign, said Robinson was treated for burns at Northern Regional Hospital Friday night “following an incident at a campaign event.”

Lonergan added in the statement that Robinson is “in good spirits, appreciates the many well wishes and looks forward to getting back on the campaign trail tomorrow morning as planned.”

Robinson, North Carolina's Republican candidate for governor, made several campaign stops across the state on Friday, according to a previously released schedule and social media posts. His last stop was the Mayberry Truck Show and Parade in Mount Airy, where the incident occurred.

NewsNation was the first to report his hospitalization, which a source close to his campaign confirmed to CNN on Friday evening.

Robinson's hospitalization comes amid ongoing fallout from CNN's reporting on the lieutenant governor's previous inflammatory comments on a pornography website's message board.

Many prominent Republicans subsequently tried to distance themselves from Robinson, including former President Donald Trump, who did not mention Robinson at a recent campaign stop in North Carolina despite previously supporting him.

National Republican groups have also withdrawn financial support for Robinson as several of his campaign officials have resigned and his top aide will step down.

As the embattled candidate continues his campaign, a new CNN poll shows Robinson losing the race. The poll released Friday and conducted by SSRS after CNN KFile's reporting was published showed Democrat Josh Stein leading Robinson among likely voters, 53% to 36%.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN's Josh Campbell and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.