North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s campaign ad spending appears to have plummeted amid mounting scandals and declining Republican poll numbers.

The lieutenant governor’s obvious deficit stands despite changes to North Carolina’s campaign finance laws that would make it easier for national donors to support his campaign without leaving fingerprints on their money.

Robinson faces the state’s Democratic attorney general, Josh Stein, in November. The North Carolina Democratic campaign has about $15 million worth of television advertising space reserved through Election Day, according to AdImpact, an election data tracking service.

Republicans, however, have only reserved about $865,000 for the same period. Robinson has spent about $8 million on ads since the general election began. He currently has about $64,000 reserved in ad commitments for the remainder of the campaign, according to AdImpact.

Republicans “are being outspent in many contests, but future reservations are volatile and can change at any time,” said John Link, vice president of data at AdImpact. But he also called Democratic ad spending in North Carolina this election cycle “crazy” and record-breaking.

Since August 17, advertisers in North Carolina have spent $7 million supporting Democrats, compared to $4.7 million supporting Republicans.

By the end of June, Stein’s campaign had raised $32.9 million and had $15.9 million in the bank. Robinson’s campaign had raised $15.8 million – a record for a Republican candidate – and had $6.6 million left to go.

In June, North Carolina’s Republican-dominated legislature passed changes to the state’s campaign finance laws that allow federal PACs and political organizations to donate to North Carolina candidates and political committees without having to register or report as state PACs. Essentially, it allows donors from across the country to give money to North Carolina candidates through state committees without disclosing it.

The move was seen as a benefit for Robinson, whose sharp rhetoric has repeatedly sparked outrage throughout his public career. Robinson’s comments attacking the LGBTQ+ community, women and even other black people exposed him as a provocateur even before his June appearance at a Bladen County church, where he said “some people need to be killed” in a speech in which he called political opponents “communists” and “evil.”

The Robinson campaign insists he was referring to America’s enemies in World War II and calling on all politicians to reject violence.

Two weeks later, a gunman attempted to kill Donald Trump, which contrasted sharply with Robinson’s rhetoric.

Robinson has consistently trailed Stein in the polls in an otherwise right-leaning state. Over the past six weeks, most polls have shown Robinson ahead by four to ten percentage points. The Republican hardliner has faced questions about the mismanagement of his campaign finances and his wife’s nonprofit organization.

A three-and-a-half-year investigation into Robinson’s campaign spending before his election as lieutenant governor is still ongoing, after an initial complaint was filed by Bob Hall, a campaign finance watchdog and former editor of Democracy NC. Most recently, the kayak shop owner told reporters that the thousands of dollars in spending claimed by Robinson’s campaign four years ago never occurred.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services last week ordered Balanced Nutrition Inc, a nonprofit run by Robinson’s wife, to repay more than $132,000 in federal funds. The order followed a months-long investigation – which Robinson called politically motivated – that uncovered “serious deficiencies” at the nonprofit food assistance organization, describing it as improperly billing the federal government and incurring excessive administrative costs and inadequate documentation.

Robinson’s campaign has generally avoided engaging with mainstream media – requests for comment for this article went unanswered – relying instead on occasional outreach to conservative radio hosts and conservative social media platforms. In recent days, Robinson has gone low key and tried to reinvent himself. He has a dozen public events scheduled for the next few weeks, a far cry from his largely empty schedule of recent months.

But Robinson is competing with the Stein campaign’s saturation advertising, which consists of Robinson’s own voice.