Marine-backed Republican governor nominee attacks socialism and champions fiscal responsibility

Republican Colorado gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx is building a campaign around an all-Marine ticket that he claims will provide the steely spines needed to fight back against what he calls a democratic socialist movement growing strong in races across the nation.

There has never been a successful socialism program, and I will say socialism is just a transitionary word for communism. Let us just say it for what it is, Marx told Fox News Digital during an interview. He made those comments while promoting his platform focused on public safety, social conservatism, and helping to lower the cost of living for residents.

Marx secured Colorado's primary in June after running on themes like law enforcement support and fiscal responsibility. His victory arrived at a time when the left flank of the Democratic Party achieved a series of wins nationally, including in his own state where Melat Kiros upset incumbent Representative Diana DeGette. Those results showed mixed outcomes overall but highlighted how progressive candidates continued to make headway across the country.

Marx believes the answer to this national trend and the local shift leftward is simple: bring in the Marines. He has selected retired Marine Colonel George Markert as his running mate, creating a ticket where both men served in the Corps according to Marx's own words. This pairing is meant to inject military discipline into Colorado government.

People know what they will get when they get Marines because we have hard foreheads and steely spines plus high integrity, said Marx regarding their shared background. Markert spent more than 30 years in the Marine Corps holding senior leadership positions at U.S. Central Command as well as within the 2nd and 4th Marine Logistics Groups before moving to the private sector. In that role he oversaw infrastructure-related field operations across North America.

Marx also founded All Things Possible Ministries and is presenting himself and his running mate as political outsiders with the discipline and accountability required to tackle a socialist movement effectively. He contrasted this approach with the Democratic Socialists of America, which he described as organized entities that are well-funded and focused on reshaping Colorado from the top down.

The DSA endorsed Kiros for her congressional run and supports eventually abolishing police forces. That position places public safety directly at the center of a major political divide while Colorado continues to deal with crime rates that sit well above national levels. In 2024, the state recorded about 476 violent crimes and 2,593 property crimes per 100,000 residents according to calculations by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics. Those figures represent roughly a 28 percent increase in violent crime and a 41 percent jump in property crime compared to national rates.

They are more focused on policing speech than protecting families while residents worry about crime, gang activity, and other threats, said Marx. He argued that state leaders advance this ideology with policies that threaten free speech and punish people simply for their beliefs even as crime rises around them. Marx also took aim at his opponent, Colorado Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, claiming that increased government spending has not translated into better results for Coloradans who pay higher taxes.

Weiser has repeatedly challenged the Trump administration in court on issues including efforts to restrict birthright citizenship and various immigration-related policies. He hasn't made our state safer because it is softer on crime and we have experienced it, Marx stated with clear conviction. Folks are ready for a change as hardworking taxpayers pay more while the government delivers less according to his assessment of current conditions.

We are one election away because it will be either me or it will be a Democrat said Marx laying the DSA blame at the feet of the Democratic Party rather than Republicans or Independents. It did not come through those other groups instead it came through Democrats in his view. Fox News Digital reached out to Weiser for comment on these claims and the broader debate over public safety priorities.