Republicans in Colorado have nominated Victor Marx, a Marine veteran, culture warrior, and lately a mercenary who claims he single-handedly ordered a strike on ISIS, as their nominee for governor, according to projections by the AP and CNN.
The election was held on Tuesday, June 30, but it took over a week to count enough votes to call the election. This occurred on the evening of Thursday, July 9.
Marx’s own republican rivals in the race described him as “a fraud” and clearly stated that they would not endorse him in any way, shape, or form if he won.
Following the projection, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who won the Democratic nomination for governor, called Marx “a threat to our state’s values and our future” and a person who practices “a politics of deception, demonization, and distraction.”
While the latest vote provides Marx a platform through November, it’s unlikely he’ll prevail; deep-blue Colorado hasn’t elected a republican Governor in a generation. The current Governor, democrat Jared Polis, is term-limited.
Possibly the craziest of Marx’s claims is the claim that he was forced to kill a man when he was 7 years old.
Marx’s campaign motto was severely Anti-LGBTQ+ with an emphasis on anti-trans policies. He condemned trans women competing in sports, calling them “biological males in locker rooms” and telling gay and trans Coloradans that they “believe the lie of gender ideology.”
“In a culture of gender fluidity, I decided to settle the issue from the Creator’s point of view. There are only two. It’s that simple,” he posted to his large social media following. “’Male and female. He created them and blessed them,’” Marx quots from Scripture. “Now let’s all protect our children.”
In remarks at his election night party on June 30, Marx called his campaign “nothing shy of beyond incredible.”
“This is a battle of good and evil. This isn’t so much parties anymore,” he says.
In 2021, Marx posted an interview with a conversion therapy advocate to his YouTube channel where he claimed that he became homophobic because he “was abused by, you know, males” and said that “maybe I should” be attracted to men, but that he was “restored” by God, and this solved his “sexual weirdness.” He then claimed that people can turn straight if they “really commit (their) way to the Lord.”
An outlier at the start of the race, Marx overtook his opponents with a campaign that provided one outrageous and viral claim after another, garnering widespread attention, if not respect.
A ministry leader and martial arts enthusiast—He practices “Cajun Karate,” he says—Marx describes himself as a “high-risk humanitarian” in his supposed role as leader of an anti-human trafficking nonprofit. Marx has claimed he’s rescued thousands of kidnapped women and girls and personally called in an airstrike on ISIS. He hasn’t provided any evidence to back up those extravagant claims or others.
In his role as a minister, Marx says he’s “set people free” from “demonic oppression” hundreds of times in exorcism-like prayer rituals—in person and over the phone.
The sheer ridiculousness of Marx’s claims was brought to the forefront of people’s attention through an interview in the sole primary debate in which he participated, accompanied by his Doberman Pincher on stage.
“You claim that you’ve been all around the world, armed to the teeth, rescuing women and children from captivity; that you’ve stopped human smugglers at the Mexico border and made them pay a price; that you, as a civilian, called in a U.S. military airstrike that killed 70 ISIS fighters; that you were the first American into Gaza during the war with Israel; that you’ve done 150 high-risk missions, and every one has been a success. You told me last week that it’s all true, and that you don’t need to prove it to anyone. But you’re talking to voters now. How should voters decide whether you’ve lived one of the most extraordinary lives in human history, or whether you’re a liar and a fraud?” states a reporter.
“I can’t help it if I’ve had an extraordinary life,” Marx responds. “I’m an ordinary fella, starting from my childhood all the way to now, me standing up on a stage running for governor.”
Turning to his khaki-clad dog, Marx says, “Reagan, I said I was going to talk about you.”
“She was in Syria and Iraq,” Marx told the reporter. “So, is she lying, too?”
Without proof, Mr. Marx, we consider you both liars. Photos or it didn’t happen.
Photo courtesy of social media
