This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
It took more than a week, but there’s finally a declared winner in the Republican primary for governor.
Victor Marx defeated state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer by 2,516 votes, as of 4:15 p.m. Thursday. The Associated Press called the race for Marx at 4:08 p.m.
“Now the real work begins,” Marx wrote on social media, thanking his volunteers and supporters. “Let’s face it, Colorado has changed, and not for the better. But there is hope. We can unite and build a better, stronger Colorado for all of us. This isn’t about a single political party. It’s about a single, unified Colorado! The general election starts now. Let’s go win it together.”
Marx will face an uphill climb against Democratic nominee Phil Weiser in November. The last time Colorado elected a Republican for governor was in 1998.
THANK YOU, COLORADO. Because of you, your time, your door knocking, your phone calls, and your belief in something bigger than politics, we just won the Republican nomination for Governor.⁰⁰This victory belongs to every volunteer and supporter who refused to give up on our… pic.twitter.com/vMLBWEceji
— Victor Marx (@victormarx) July 9, 2026
Weiser said in a statement that Marx is out of step with Coloradans. “Governing is serious business, and Coloradans have a clear choice in this race: a politics of showing up, listening, and fighting for the rights and freedoms of all – or a politics of deception, demonization, and distraction.”
Kirkmeyer ended election night with a slight lead, but as more ballots were counted, Marx took over and led for most of the week by around 2,000 votes.
Rep. Scott Bottoms finished third in the primary.
Marx is a ministry leader with an unusual background for a political candidate. He’s a former enlisted Marine and martial arts instructor turned nonprofit “high risk humanitarian,” whose claim to fame are viral videos of disarming people pointing dummy guns at his head. Marx said that he was forced to kill a man in Mississippi at the behest of his stepfather when he was only seven years old, but local law enforcement there had no information on a potential homicide.
Marx excited the MAGA wing of the party with his tough talk about challenging the status quo in Colorado. But the prospect of him carrying the banner for the GOP in the November governor’s race has drawn concerns from more traditional Republicans.
Dick Wadhams, a former chair of the Colorado Republican Party and a political consultant, says nothing good will come from Marx at the top of the ticket.
“Victor Marx will undermine and in some cases absolutely destroy every Republican candidate in a competitive race for state Legislature and Congress, if he’s the nominee,” Wadhams said.
He’s worried that questions surrounding Marx’s past and background will spill over into other races. “It will be a huge distraction at the very least, but it will also essentially infect the other campaigns with his exaggerations.
While Marx has a large social media following, Wadhams points to a poll from the Marx campaign to support his stance that Marx could hurt downballot races.
In early May, a poll from Freedom IEC found almost 60 percent of voters would support Marx compared to 15 percent for Kirkmeyer.
The actual primary results showed a much, much tighter race. “The fact is that as voters get to know him, whether they vote every election or are low propensity voters, they don't like what they see because it isn't real.”
Heidi Ganhal, who was top of the GOP ticket in 2022, expressed concerns prior to the primary, urging voters to select a candidate that will not hurt important down ballot races, such as the congressional races this November.
She said back then that the focus should be on Colorado’s four congressional seats that “are genuinely competitive, genuinely at risk and genuinely worth fighting for.”
“A governor’s nominee receives a lot of attention and scrutiny. And if there are things in a candidate’s background that are questionable, toxic, whatever, they become campaign ads that run in swing districts, in those congressional districts every week until election day,” she explained.
Marx has had the support of at least one of those Republican congress members. Rep. Lauren Boebert endorsed Marx in the primary race.
Neither Marx nor Kirkmeyer immediately commented on the Associated Press call of the race.
