Victor Marx won Colorado’s Republican nomination for governor on Thursday, July 9, after defeating state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer by approximately 2,500 votes in a race that remained too close to call for more than a week. Marx, a 61-year-old Marine veteran and ministry leader from Colorado Springs, secured 39.9% of the vote to Kirkmeyer’s 39.4% when the Associated Press called the race just after 4 p.m.
The close margin was just enough to avoid an automatic recount under Colorado law. State Rep. Scott Bottoms finished third with 21% of the vote. Kirkmeyer had led on election night, June 30, but as mail-in ballots were tallied throughout the following week, Marx gradually pulled ahead and maintained his lead.
Marx, a first-time political candidate, tapped into a large national social media following built around his work as a self-described “high-risk humanitarian” to fuel his campaign. His approach emphasized personality and leadership style over detailed policy proposals, contrasting sharply with Kirkmeyer’s more traditional political background. Marx’s fundraising significantly outpaced Kirkmeyer’s, allowing him to reach voters directly and sidestep many campaign conventions like regular debate appearances.
Kirkmeyer was the establishment favorite, securing endorsements from former Gov. Bill Owens, U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, and The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs. However, she struggled to match Marx’s momentum and fundraising capacity. Both Kirkmeyer and Bottoms stated during the campaign that they would not support Marx in the general election if he won the primary, with Kirkmeyer saying he would be “a disaster for our state” and Bottoms calling him a “con man.”
Marx will face Democratic nominee Phil Weiser, Colorado’s Attorney General, in the November 3 general election. Republicans have not won a statewide race in Colorado since 2016, and the last GOP candidate for governor lost by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022. Colorado’s last Republican governor was Bill Owens, who served from 1999 to 2007. Weiser said in a statement that Marx’s nomination represents “a politics of deception, demonization, and distraction” compared to his own focus on “showing up, listening, and fighting for the rights and freedoms of all.”
Marx’s path to the nomination drew concerns from some within the Republican Party about his background and fitness for office. He refused to answer a question from 9News anchor Kyle Clark about how many people he had killed in his international work, a moment that went viral and drew criticism on late-night television. Marx has also claimed he was forced to kill a man in Mississippi at age 7 by his stepfather, though local law enforcement there had no information on such a homicide.
Dick Wadhams, a former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, warned that Marx at the top of the ticket could harm other Republican candidates in competitive races. “Victor Marx will undermine and in some cases absolutely destroy every Republican candidate in a competitive race for state Legislature and Congress,” Wadhams said, pointing to concerns that questions about Marx’s background would become campaign ads in swing districts.
Sources
- The Colorado Sun — confirmed Marx’s primary victory with 39.9% to Kirkmeyer’s 39.4%, the margin of roughly 2,500 votes, Kirkmeyer’s initial election night lead, and details of Marx’s campaign approach
- Colorado Public Radio — reported the race remained too close to call for over a week, Marx’s 2,516-vote margin of victory, his matchup against Phil Weiser, and concerns from Republican leaders including Dick Wadhams about Marx’s impact on downballot races
- The Denver Post — described Marx as a first-time candidate and nonprofit leader with a controversial personal history
