This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at coloradosun.com.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx on Friday announced fellow Marine veteran George Markert as his running mate.
Markert, a retired Marine colonel, originally ran for U.S. Senate this year but failed to make the primary ballot. The Broomfield resident moved to Colorado about three years ago as he settled his family after leaving the military.
“It’s an opportunity to serve,” Markert said on 710 KNUS, a conservative talk radio station where Marx announced the pick Friday morning. “It’s an opportunity to step up and lead.”
When he ran for Senate, his first bid for public office, Markert called himself “a constitutional conservative and proud supporter of President Trump’s America First agenda.”
Marx said he picked Markert because of his ability to get things done.
“You have to have a governor and a lieutenant governor who have a backbone,” he said.
Friday was the deadline by which Marx had to announce his running mate, who will become lieutenant governor if Marx is elected to lead the state.
Marx and Markert face the Democratic team of Attorney General Phil Weiser and Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper in November.
