A Colorado Republican gubernatorial primary has become a referendum on credibility after pastor Victor Marx surged in polls with a John Wick-style persona and a record of sweeping, disputed claims—while rivals Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and Rep. Scott Bottoms figh
On a debate stage. Victor Marx didn’t try to defend his wildest stories the way a candidate might—head-on. on-camera. with numbers and receipts. Instead. when Kyle Clark of 9News pressed him during the Republican gubernatorial primary debate to account for the claims he’s made. Marx turned to a dog beside him and asked Clark. “Is she lying. too?”.
It was an oddly clarifying moment in a race that has already strained credulity. Marx. a pastor presenting himself as an action-hero type. has described himself as someone who was forced into killing at age 7 by his stepfather. while also suggesting—without specifying—he has “killed many. many times” since then “for the greater good.” He has claimed the U.S. military empowered him to order strikes that killed 70 ISIS fighters. and he has asserted that he rescued over 45. 000 women and children from slavery worldwide. Those rescue numbers later disappeared from his All Things Possible Ministries website after he was called out on them.
He has also said he has led over 130 missions in over 30 nations but claimed ignorance when asked for details. And he performs exorcisms over the phone, telling people they don’t need to be in person to cast out demons.
Those claims are not the kind of fodder that usually travels far with voters who expect to see evidence—not stories that read like scenes from a high-stakes action movie and then shift when challenged. Yet in Colorado’s Republican primary, voters have moved anyway. Marx holds a commanding lead in the polls over his two opponents: state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and state Rep. Scott Bottoms.
The latest numbers underline the gap. In a poll of Republican primary voters, Marx’s support stands at 42%, while Kirkmeyer gets 13% and Bottoms trails behind Marx. When voters are given a summary of the candidates’ policy positions, the gap widens: Marx remains at 59%, with Kirkmeyer at 9%.
Kirkmeyer has tried to occupy the “sane person” lane in the three-way race. Her argument centers on working on bipartisan legislation and believing Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. She also avoids. at least in the way this campaign has been framed. accusing Democrats of running child sex trafficking rings—and she doesn’t claim to parachute into foreign brothels to rescue women at gunpoint.
But her own history has kept her from fully capturing the voters she needs. She has been involved in prior efforts in Weld County to secede from Colorado. She has pushed for local jurisdictions to refuse to enforce gun control laws, and she supports banning abortion without exceptions. She also accepts the 2020 election results while claiming there is no evidence for human-caused climate change.
Bottoms, meanwhile, has long leaned into outrage politics. In a 2022 town hall. he raved about “demonic” school officials forcing elementary school children to undergo gender transition surgery. saying. “We have these transvestites that dance around in the schools. ” and insisting he would put people in jail for things he alleges are not actually happening. He also said, “I don’t have anything wrong with transgender people.”.
On the campaign trail. Bottoms has continued to make claims about Democrats in the state House running a pedophile sex trafficking ring without presenting evidence. He promised: “The moment I’m governor. we’re going to shut down the pedophile rings that are in the House. in the Senate. and in the governor’s office.” He has also claimed he’s been working with the FBI for three years to uncover this sprawling conspiracy.
The political fight in Colorado isn’t only about what any candidate says—it’s about what kind of candidate gets rewarded for saying it. Marx’s supporters. the article’s framing makes clear. are overrepresented among GOP primary voters who would donate to a pastor who portrays himself as a John Wick-style action hero. In a state often described as purple and moderated. it’s a jarring outcome: a clownish figure so far ahead. with credibility questions swirling around him even as he converts those questions into performance.
Earlier this month. Colorado Sun columnist Mike Littwin wrote late last month that offering “offering lies. damned lies and more lies is the way to win MAGA hearts.” The race itself makes that line feel less like commentary and more like a description of how the GOP base is responding to the candidates in front of them.
Colorado’s Republican primary is June 30. Mail ballots start going out to voters today, turning the debate-stage theater into a decision voters will actually cast.
The Democratic gubernatorial primary has its own tight contest—Sen. Michael Bennet and state Attorney General Phil Weiser are running against each other—but their second debate last Thursday night is described as a dog-free snoozefest compared to the Republican weirdness. In that matchup, the debate centered largely on accusations that each side was too “wimpy” to stand up to Trump.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary is likely to win in November. the piece argues. because Democrats are competing in what it describes as a “lesser of two evils” contest against a Republican side that is moving farther out of the mainstream. Still. the reminder sits close to every conversation about 2026: Trump’s 2024 win over then-Vice President Kamala Harris was a sobering proof that “less crazy” doesn’t automatically produce election victories.
And as the GOP primary turns on credulity, the stakes are not theoretical. The scariest part of watching Colorado’s Republicans go down this path. the piece says. may be the possibility that it won’t end with this state—because the passion behind these campaigns. or at least the ability to fake it. can win elections when voters are comfortable or bored. Democrats, in that view, cannot rely on the expectation that Republican nuttiness will do all the work by itself.
Colorado politics Republican primary gubernatorial race Victor Marx Barbara Kirkmeyer Scott Bottoms 9News Kyle Clark mail ballots June 30 Michael Bennet Phil Weiser