In an era when the Republican Party has been consumed by MAGA extremism and aggressive Christian nationalism, it’s not easy for GOP candidates to stand out on those fronts. Victor Marx, the Republican candidate for governor of Colorado, manages to pull it off.
Marx’s MAGA profile got a boost when Charlie Kirk called him a friend and spiritual mentor in a foreword to Marx’s 2024 book about being a “manly man.” He has said that Charlie and Erika Kirk encouraged him to run for office.
Marx has made a dubious name for himself with wild and often unsubstantiated claims about his life.
He has used those claims to promote two narratives that appeal to MAGA religious-right activists: a redemption arc and a fierce spiritual warrior persona.
Marx portrays himself as both a spiritual and physical warrior against sex traffickers and other evil foes. His website once claimed that he and his ministry, “All Things Possible,” have rescued more than 45,000 women and children; the claim was pulled down after it was challenged.
But the oddities don’t stop there. Reporters have not been able to verify another part of his life story, which is that he was forced by an abusive stepfather to shoot and kill someone when he was only seven. Neither has he offered evidence for his claim that, as a civilian, he once called in a military airstrike that killed 70 ISIS fighters. He has also waffled when asked by reporters whether and how many people he has killed as an adult.
Marx speaks dominionists’ spiritual warfare language. He has written and spoken frequently about using prayer to free people from demons, saying at one point that he had “met Satan in person.” Marx is fervently opposed to access to abortion, which he calls “a manifestation of darkness.” He promoted a $99 spiritual warfare course to free people from homosexual attraction and other demonic forces.
Marx vowed that on “day one” as governor, “We’re gonna consecrate the state back to God.” He has been endorsed by Colorado-based dominionists Andrew Wommack and Lou Engle. Wommack has made his own extraordinary and unproven assertions, such as his claim that his ministry has raised “well over 50 people from the dead.” Engle appeared with Marx’s wife Eileen to urge conservative Christians to “join the spiritual battle” and fast for 21 days to convince God to work a “miracle” in Colorado.
If polls and pundits are right, a miracle is about what it would take for Marx to become governor. Thank God.
