— The avowed racist who won a Republican statehouse primary down near the South Carolina line has threatened local party officials and been banned from GOP functions.

So how did he win the May primary? Republicans in Hoke and Scotland counties have a number of theories. They don't involve racism.

Current and former party officials say Russ Walker's rhetoric on race, religion and white supremacy wasn't part of the campaign. That came out later, when a website called christdescendedfromjoseph.com was tied back to him.

Walker's pitch during his one joint appearance with fellow candidate John Imbaratto had more to do with the lawsuits he's filed over the years and the health effects of canned soda, Imbaratto said. He didn't mention God being a racist or Jews being the "children of Satan," themes he hits heavily online.

"That would have really put the hair up on my neck," Imbaratto said.

There were signs, though. Literally. Walker protested The News-Journal, a newspaper in Raeford, in January with a sign that said "God is a Racist." He had sued the paper over its refusal to print his letters, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

Walker won 824 votes to Imbaratto's 447 in a district with about 55,000 registered voters. The district leans heavily Democratic, giving neighboring legislative Republicans in the GOP majority a better chance at victory in their own districts, Incumbent Rep. Garland Pierce, D-Scotland, hasn't had Republican competition in the district since 2010.

Walker, 75, lives in Hoke County, which has almost twice as many registered Republicans as Scotland County, where Imbaratto lives. That leaves some party officials to assume voters just picked the Hoke County candidate.

Walker also campaigned much harder than Imbaratto, according to both candidates.

Then there's Imbaratto's name, Scotland County Republican Party Chairman Mark Schenck said. Probably too hard to remember.

"I get a lot of questions about it, what nationality am I," Imbaratto said. "Obviously it’s Italian – double consonant and a vowel (at the end).”

Website gets wide notice

Walker's campaign website, walkerforhouse48.com, is long and text heavy. It runs about 1,200 words before mentioning "the Jews."

It was his other website that got him statewide and national notice, particularly after The News & Observer pointed to it late last week, some two months after the election.

Atop the home page, the site promises articles "about Christ's genealogy, Free Masonry, physical geography, science, economics, Social Security, race, Mormon Church, Endowment, Free Masons, MAH-HA-BONE, PAY-LAY-ALE, Free Masons, Negotiation, Fracking, Confederate Flag, politics, economics, ethanol, biodiesel, Depleted Uranium, Fluorine, Paul, fracking, equality, black white skin color, global warming, criminal trials, diversity, Pale Horse, Language, South Africa, Obama, hybrids, mongrels, immigration, Martin Luther King, Megiddo, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Armageddon, Obama, Trump, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech and Expression, Social Security Numbers, Racial Gerrymandering, The South etc."

In a post on equality, Walker calls it "the greatest of all lies" and attributes it to Martin Luther King Jr., though he refers to King as "Martin Lucifer" and changes King to a racial slur.

"Not even in mathematics is there equality!" the post states. "4 = 4 is a lie regardless of what most think. Location or position is a characteristic of numbers. The right four is in a different position than the left four, hence inequality."

Once this came out, Walker was disavowed by the state and local GOP. He has since threatened at least one party official with a lawsuit but makes no bones about being a racist.

"Absolutely," he said in a phone interview Tuesday. "God's a racist."

Walker said he was "stunned" that he won and that he has no plans to leave the race.

Ron Hartman, until recently the chairman of the Hoke County Republican Party, said Walker doesn't represent the local party in any way. He started coming to party meetings about a year ago, Hartman said.

"He's a loose cannon," Hartman said. "I don’t even think he’s a typical racist. I think he’s got some crazy ideas.”

But did people vote for him because they're racist?

“Not at all," Hartman said. "I mean, I know some rednecks that are racist, and they’re not even close to that.”

Schenck said you're going to find racism wherever you go.

"I've had some who have startled me with the n-word," he said. "But that's not the general conversation by any means."

Imbaratto said the internet and the media make racism seem more prominent than it is.

Would a person of color say different in Scotland County?

“My opinion is they might think different," Imbaratto said, "especially if they bump into people who talk about God being racist.”

Party opposition and criticism

Pierce, who is black, said he doesn't draw conclusions from Walker's win.

"I've lived in this community a long time," he said. "I don't think that's most of the folks that I know. ... We all work together for the good of our community."

Schenck sent around an email in recent days calling Walker "a mean, nasty, racist and school yard bully."

"We disagree with Mr. Pierce on issues of taxes, school choice and a variety of typical issues that define differences between Republicans and Democrats," Schenck wrote. "However Rep. Pierce is a good man. He cares about our community. He should never be attacked for the color of his skin."

Walker said he's gotten a couple of death threats, but he's generally happy with the notoriety he's received, and he's unfazed by the party's cold shoulder. After some back and forth via email and telephone, the state party sent Walker a "notice of trespass" Monday, banning him from party meetings and any property owned or leased by the state GOP.

He told state Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse that the freeze-out will allow him to move to the center heading into the general election and to criticize President Donald Trump.

The state party didn't know Walker was running until he filed, Woodhouse said. It didn't vet him as it should have, he said.

"I feel sure that those 800 people (who voted for Walker) didn't know anything about the guy," Woodhouse said. "We didn't know, and it's our damn job to know."

They know now.

"When I walk in a grocery store, people look at me," Walker said Tuesday. "That's the crazy guy running for the House."