Two Republican rivals of Victor Marx said Tuesday night they would not support him if he wins next month’s primary for Colorado governor, turning a debate on the Colorado Christian University campus in Lakewood into a public break with the race’s fundraising leader.
State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer said she would not back Marx because he “went back on his word,” while state Rep. Scott Bottoms was even sharper. “I will not support Victor Marx,” Bottoms said. “He’s a con man. He’s lied to me personally. He’s lied to other people.”
Marx answered by calling the remarks a “stunning admission” that he said “puts their own egos and ambitions ahead of the party and the state.” The exchange came during a 90-minute debate that Marx had originally agreed to join before pulling out weeks ago after complaining that one of the moderators showed bias by demanding detailed questions about his background.
Kirkmeyer said that decision raised concerns. “I will not support Victor Marks if he receives the nomination, because, first of all, he went back on my word,” she said, correcting herself as she spoke. She added, “If you can’t show up to a debate — I mean, debates can be a little stressful. But if you say you’re going to show up to a debate and then you don’t show up, you’re going back on your word.” Kirkmeyer also said, “Plus, I don’t think — all the stories that he’s told, I think he has embellished, and I don’t believe him.”
The clash mattered because the three Republicans are competing for the chance to take on term-limited Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, and Marx enters as the first-time candidate with the deepest fundraising in the field. He also carries baggage that has shadowed his campaign for months. Marx runs All Things Possible ministry, which says it works on “hunting predators as well as rescuing, restoring and empowering women and children who have been held captive by traffickers and other abusers.” He has also said he was forced to behead a dead cat at age 3 and hold a gun that shot and killed a man at age 7.
Bottoms said he was troubled by what he described as “too many investigations about everything, including fraud, corruption.” He said multiple law enforcement personnel warned him about Marx. “When he declared, I got phone calls and or emails immediately from CIA, the State Department, Border Patrol, ICE, Border Patrol in Texas, the FBI, another CIA agent, immediately telling me: Stay away from this guy,” Bottoms said. He added that Marx was still his friend then, but later lied about him on a radio show. “I was still kind of naive toward him, but since then, I cannot support somebody that broken and corrupt for governor,” he said.
Marx, who authored the 2024 book “The Dangerous Gentleman: A Call for Men to Be Courageous in a Culture of Fear,” has faced scrutiny over his background, campaign finance filings and claimed martial arts rankings. A recent opinion piece also said he has claimed he survived a firefight with ISIS and another attempt on his life, and that his organization has not rescued 45,000 women and children in conflict zones. The same piece said his team provides trauma counseling, material aid and plush toys that play comforting music.
The bigger fight now is not whether Marx can raise money or win delegates — he already finished second at the April convention with 45% of 2,145 GOP delegates, while Bottoms took first. It is whether the party can unify around him if he wins. With two of his rivals already refusing to line up behind him, Marx’s path to the nomination may be easier than the path to a governorship would be.
