Victor Marx’s rise exposes a Colorado GOP fighting with itself
Former state lawmaker Norma Anderson is 94 years old, and for almost all her life she’s been a proud Republican.
“I was born a Republican,” Anderson joked.
“Everybody in the family was a Republican. And so when I registered, that’s how I was, as a Republican.”
She’s lived in Lakewood for years, and made history as the first female majority leader in both legislative chambers at the state Capitol, when Republicans held the majority.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
Times have changed. This election will be different.
“Abe Lincoln’s turning over in his grave. It’s not a Republican party anymore,” Anderson said.
This summer Anderson changed her voter registration to unaffiliated, something that would have been unimaginable to her decades ago. She said Republicans have veered from their core values: a strong defense, teaching those in need how to help themselves, a good education system, not incurring a large debt.
The final straw for Anderson was Victor Marx’s win in the GOP gubernatorial primary election in June. He defeated state Rep. Scott Bottoms and state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer.
“(Kirkmeyer) worked for local government. She was a county commissioner. Good grief. And she was on the budget committee. Very qualified. And the Republicans didn’t vote for her. And I don’t know why, but if that’s the kind of party it is, it’s not a party,” Anderson said.
Who is Victor Marx?
Marx burst on the political stage with a massive social media following and an unconventional campaign as a self-styled humanitarian and Christian ministry leader. He’s made what many view as fantastical claims, including that his stepfather forced him at age 7 to shoot and kill a man, and claims that he’s rescued countless women and children from “high-risk global conflict zones” and performed exorcisms.
“Just because a person doesn’t believe the truth, it doesn’t make it a lie,” Marx said during a debate on 9News that ended up making national headlines when it at times veered wildly off course.
Marx’s backers say his stories are true, and that he connects with parts of the base.
“I’ve seen the pictures from his missions, those are real,” said Marx’s running mate George Markert. “He has done an incredible amount of good work to help individuals and communities in crisis. Once you really get in there and look at the details of it and understand the scope of what he did on his own initiative, he and his family, it’s staggering just how much good he did for the world.”
Marx campaign showcases already deep GOP split
Colorado Republicans have long grappled with the future direction of the party, with a history of controversial GOP chairs, mistrust of each other and fundamental disagreements on what it means to be a Republican.
The party has struggled to regain relevance in the solidly blue state. While Colorado Republicans did have a few bright spots in the last election, including flipping the 8th Congressional District red and picking up a few contested statehouse seats, they still hold deep minorities in the state legislature and haven’t won a statewide race in a decade.
Marx’s candidacy faces a tall order to bring together a fractured conservative base. His momentum in the primary took many in the GOP establishment by surprise because of his lack of policy experience. Others say his fresh perspective is an advantage.
“Voters don’t sit down and go through policy analysis and compare one candidate’s policies to the next policies. They are looking for that connection with a leader that’s going to take the state in the direction that they want,” said Jeff Hunt, a conservative activist and talk radio host who is backing Marx.
Hunt said he’s comfortable with Marx’s claims and said it’s not unusual in Christian ministry work to just go somewhere because you feel called by God.
“Is it a coordinated NGO, inter-military, international response? No, he’s just going. So I’ve known people like that. I’ve been around them. I’ve done a bit of missionary work like that,” Hunt said.
He said winning is the best way to bring different factions of the party together.
“You’ll build trust among the stakeholders, you’ll build trust among the donors, you’ll build trust among the grassroots because we love winning. That’s the whole point of this is to start winning,” he said.
‘We’ve nominated a guy who can’t keep his fantastical stories straight’
But other Republicans worry Marx’s past will be a distraction or define the race against Democratic Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Phil Weiser.
“I won’t vote for the Democratic nominee, but I’m not going to vote for Marx either,” said Dick Wadhams, the former GOP state party chair.
“I’ve spent my life working for some outstanding Republican elected officials, U.S. Senators Bill Armstrong, Hank Brown, Wayne Allard, Governor Bill Owens. These were men of integrity. They were clear mainstream conservative Republicans. They won tough elections. To me, Victor Marx is the antithesis of those candidates, and I just can’t do it,” he said.
Wadhams said that Marx is just way out of the mainstream of Colorado.
“We’ve nominated a guy who can’t keep his fantastical stories straight. I mean, frankly, the campaign for governor was lost the day that he won the primary,” he said.
For Republican Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond, none of Marx’s personal stories matter.
“I don’t care who you are,” Pond said. “I don’t care what you’ve done. I don’t care about your stories. I want to know if you have a clear understanding of what we do to tackle the number one problem in Colorado, which is the affordability crisis. How do we offset a $1.2 billion deficit?”
Pond said he met personally with Marx and had a meal with him and didn’t get answers to substantive policy questions, so he won’t be voting for him.
“I have a personal issue with tribal politics. I have a personal issue with the Republican Party telling people to fall in line and vote for somebody because they have an R by their name.”
‘I’m a good Republican. I’m going to support Republicans’
Republican Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will said he will give Marx a chance.
“I’m a good Republican. I’m going to support Republicans,” he said.
He said he still needs to learn more about him.
“The main thing is just a good candidate’s going to do good for all of Colorado. And that’s not just Front Range-centric. We got to take care of the (Western Slope) and all of Colorado and all four corners of the state,” he said.
Marx’s running mate defends him
Marx’s running mate, Markert, spent 30 years in the U.S. Marines, and told CPR News that Marx’s background never gave him pause.
“To me, it’s more about the future than the past. Number one, obviously Victor is a man of deep faith,” he said.
Markert said Marx has an instinct to help people and thinks he can bridge divides by bringing people together even if they don’t agree with him.
When asked to react to Marx’ critics, Markert’s only response was, “he has a love for his critics, his detractors, just as much as he does for his supporters. He’s able to separate that and go, look, they may think whatever they think.”
He also said Marx has a plan to make sure the state spends tax dollars wisely and to restore trust in government.
“Do you want to improve the government? Do you want transparency? Do you want to make this place safer? Do you want our people to be more prosperous?” he said of Marx’s goals.
What GOP members of Congress think
Every statewide seat is open this November, and since the governor’s race is at the top of the ticket and the most high-profile state contest, some fear it could impact turnout and support for other races such as secretary of state and attorney general.
At the federal level, Colorado has several competitive congressional races like the 8th Congressional District. The tossup seat north of Denver is held by first-term Republican Rep. Gabe Evans.
Evans called for unity on the GOP ticket and declined to tell CPR News if he has any concerns about Marx’s impact in down-ballot races.
“The point is when you look at the issues that Coloradans are concerned about, Democrats have an absolutely abysmal track record over their last eight years of being in power. And I think the folks in Colorado are ready for a change,” Evans said.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert from the 4th Congressional District endorsed Marx and said she’s glad he won the primary election. She called on Greg Lopez, a former Republican congressman who is running for governor as an unaffiliated candidate, to drop out of the race. She said Lopez is not a viable candidate and doesn’t have a path to victory.
“I believe right now we’ve got to be as unified as ever and get folks on board. This is our opportunity to really take Colorado back. And if we are going to spend the next few months fighting with each other, fighting amongst each other still, then we will have the government we deserve. And that’s not what our children deserve. It’ll be our fault,” Boebert said.
Boebert currently represents the Eastern Plains and parts of the Denver suburbs, in the most deeply red district. However, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting the seat, and her Democratic opponent, Rear Adm. Eileen Laubacher, has significantly outraised her in fundraising.
Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, from the state’s 3rd Congressional District, said he’s not focused on Marx and what it could mean for other races like his.
“I’m focused mostly on my race and making sure that I’m reaching my voters. We have a plan when it comes to messaging, when it comes to meetings, when it comes to getting out the vote, that regardless of who’s at the top of the ticket, we’re going to execute on that plan,” he said.
At a recent event in Glenwood Springs, Hurd tried to highlight his independence from President Donald Trump, who is likely the much bigger headwind for the GOP than anything the Marx campaign does or doesn’t do. Trump is deeply unpopular in the blue state and has handily lost Colorado during all three of his presidential bids.
National Democrats think it’s possible to flip all four of Colorado’s Republican-held congressional seats this cycle and oust Hurd, Boebert, Evans and Jeff Crank in the 5th Congressional District in Colorado Springs.
CPR reporter Caitlyn Kim contributed to this story.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.