Republican gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx said Wednesday he would reopen scrutiny of a Fort Collins police investigation into an alleged rape of a Colorado State University student at a fraternity house, after police did not ask prosecutors to file criminal charges.
“I will absolutely open this up again because none of it sounds fair,” Marx said during an Oct. 21 virtual interview organized by FoxTalk, the student newspaper at Community College of Aurora. Participating in the interview were student journalists from schools throughout the state.
FoxTalk moderator Piper Mussato had asked whether, if elected governor, Marx would order “an independent state review of the police investigation and whether criminal charges are warranted.”
The case centers on an alleged assault at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house in Fort Collins in October 2024. The woman, a former CSU student, filed a civil lawsuit Oct. 1 against a former fraternity member, the fraternity and other defendants.
According to the complaint, as described by the Fort Collins Coloradoan, the woman attended an off-campus party and drank what she believed was water. She said she soon felt disoriented and was taken to the fraternity chapter house instead of her sorority house, where the alleged assault occurred.
The accusations remain allegations in a civil lawsuit. No criminal charges have been filed against the former fraternity member.
On another topic, Mussato asked whether Marx’s pledge to “consecrate Colorado back to God” as his first act as governor could jeopardize state funding for public universities whose policies conflicted with his Christian beliefs.
“Absolutely not,” Marx said. “I'm not becoming governor to evangelize the state.” He said he would govern under the Constitution and argued that his proposed consecration reflected Colorado's state motto rather than a plan to impose his religion on public institutions.
Abigail Hill, a reporter for The Catalyst at Colorado College, followed with a question about how Marx would encourage unity on campuses with students of different political and religious beliefs.
“Colleges, in my opinion, should be a place where you can ask hard questions, challenge ideas, explore your faith, or choose not to have faith,” he said. Marx added that he expected public institutions to protect free expression and religious liberty regardless of viewpoint.
Julia Wildman of The Criterion at Colorado Mesa University challenged Marx on whether tougher criminal penalties would actually deter crime or simply increase the cost of incarceration.
Marx said he believed stronger punishment could deter violent crime but argued that judges should still consider the facts of individual cases. He said he would work with lawmakers to review sentencing policies using public safety, repeat offenses, fairness and cost rather than simply seeking to put more people in prison.
He also said he wanted to keep people convicted of less serious crimes out of prison when possible, pointing to rehabilitation and re-entry programs.
Michael Anthony Johnson of The Echo at Pikes Peak State College asked about teacher pay and education spending. Marx said he would examine how much public education money reaches classrooms and how much goes to administration.
The candidate called for better pay for teachers, especially in rural and underserved communities, while saying that higher spending does not automatically improve academic results. He did not identify a specific new funding source for teacher raises.
Alexander Ziemek, managing editor of The Front Page at Front Range Community College, asked whether political leaders should set an example for younger generations on how to disagree respectfully.
“You can strongly disagree with someone without actually treating (them) like an enemy,” Marx said. He argued that leaders should model civility even when they disagree sharply.
Ziemek later asked whether colleges should emphasize job preparation or teaching students to think critically. Marx said they should do both. He called for greater transparency about tuition, student debt, graduation rates and employment outcomes, and said apprenticeships and technical education should be valued alongside four-year degrees.
College affordability and career preparation also came up in FoxTalk's separate interviews with two other candidates in the governor's race.
Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser told FoxTalk he would launch a program called ColoradoCorps to recruit young people into public-service fields facing worker shortages, including teaching, nursing, counseling, firefighting and law enforcement. He said service before community college could qualify students for a college stipend, while service afterward could help reduce their education debt.
“Either you do it before community college, and then we give you stipend support for community college, or if you do it after, we can help you with your debt,” Weiser said. He also proposed expanding ways for students to earn money while learning and identified changing Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR, as central to financing broader education investments.
Unaffiliated candidate Greg Lopez, interviewed by FoxTalk on Oct. 19 alongside The Front Page reporter Sean Carter, questioned whether rising tuition was being driven by administrative expenses and said colleges should be evaluated on how their funds are spent. Asked how he would help families struggling with tuition, Lopez said aid should come with expectations that students study and earn strong grades.