Victor Marx Wins Colorado GOP Governor Primary by Narrow Margin in 3-Way Race

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 13

Victor Marx, a right-wing preacher who brands himself a political outsider, was declared the winner of Colorado’s Republican gubernatorial primary after a close three-way contest.
His victory came despite scrutiny of dramatic personal claims — including killing a man at age 7 and rescuing 40,000 trafficking victims — that reporters said they could not verify.
Colorado Republicans warned Marx’s nomination could hurt down-ballot races in a state that has trended blue, with one party delegate saying he could do “absolute destruction” to other candidates.
The result also exposed fractures on the Colorado right: Marx was not the choice of much of the state party’s MAGA-aligned leadership, and favored hard-right pastor Scott Bottoms finished third.
Republicans interviewed in the report attributed Marx’s rise to charisma, a strong social media following and voter anger at professional politicians, underscoring the outsider politics reshaping primaries.