Voodoo, exorcism and a killer at age 7. Meet Colorado's Republican nominee for governor
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
Colorado Republicans have not won a governor's race since Bill Owens left office two decades ago. So you would think the party might spend a cycle trying to find a candidate who can actually talk to suburban voters in Jefferson County or Douglas County about property taxes, housing costs, and crime. Instead they nominated Victor Marx, a martial artist and traveling minister whose public biography includes a childhood killing, a history of self-described voodoo influence, and a ministry built around performing exorcisms.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Victor Marx barely won, but his victory delivers a strong statement about the nature of today's politics. It shows what happens when a party stops seriously competing and instead indulges its fever dreams.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Colorado Republicans have not won a governor's race since Bill Owens left office two decades ago. So you would think the party might spend a cycle trying to find a candidate who can actually talk to suburban voters in Jefferson County or Douglas County about property taxes, housing costs, and crime. Instead they nominated Victor Marx, a martial artist and traveling minister whose public biography includes a childhood killing, a history of self-described voodoo influence, and a ministry built around performing exorcisms. That is not a caricature written by some Denver newspaper looking to embarrass conservatives. It is how the man describes himself.
Marx may be sincere. He may have overcome real trauma and built something meaningful out of it. None of that is the point. The point is that a state party desperate to break a two-decade losing streak just handed its top ballot line to a figure whose personal story will be the entire story, every single day, from now until November. Reporters will not ask him about TABOR refunds or water rights. They will ask him about the killing at age seven and the exorcisms, over and over, because that is what any campaign reporter would ask.
This is what happens when a party stops building a bench and starts rewarding whoever generates the loudest applause at a county assembly. Colorado Republicans have real grievances to run on, from Denver's handling of migrant costs to Jared Polis-era energy mandates that have made utility bills brutal for working families. Those are winnable arguments in the right hands. A nominee whose backstory eats the campaign alive is not the right hands.
We are not interested in mocking a man's faith or his personal testimony. We are interested in Republicans winning statewide races again in a state that used to elect them regularly. Nominating a curiosity instead of a contender is not a bold statement of conviction. It is a party settling for a headline instead of a governor's mansion.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.