Victor Marx won’t debate the two other Republicans on the primary ballot for Colorado governor Tuesday night, with the minister claiming bias — and his opponents claiming cowardice.
The debate, hosted by the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University, was set to feature Marx, state Rep. Scott Bottoms and state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer as they vie for the GOP nomination. It was the first of two agreed-upon debates to feature all three candidates — until Marx pulled out May 16.
Tuesday’s event will also be the latest at which Marx, who holds a commanding fundraising lead and won 40% of the vote at the party’s state assembly, won’t appear in person next to his competition.
He declined to participate in in Douglas County that featured Bottoms, Kirkmeyer and Greg Lopez, a former GOP candidate now running as an independent. Marx also declined to participate in a statewide televised debate on May 14 co-sponsored by The Denver Post.
Spokespeople for Kirkmeyer and Bottoms said their candidates had not shared a stage with Marx for a forum or debate since at least the very early days of the campaign.
Paul Teske, a professor of public affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, said it’s “unusual” for a high-profile candidate for a high-profile office to have so few public appearances against his opponents. Democratic candidates Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser, for example, have participated in multiple events at which they either shared a stage to discuss policies or outright debated, with more to come, he said.
“There’s a norm that you want to see your future governor answer some hard questions and tackle some policy issues, and not just hold campaign-style events where everyone cheers for you,” Teske said.
When asked to comment for this story, Marx’s campaign responded by referring The Post to a social media video posted by his spokesperson earlier in the week.
Tuesday’s debate is the only one where Marx had agreed to participate before backing out.
One of the debate moderators, KOA News Radio host Michael Brown — a former appointee in President George W. Bush’s administration — sent Marx of several claims Marx had made publicly, including about ministry work in the Middle East and Haiti; a gun battle with ISIS, an Islamic State militant group; and his martial arts credentials.
Through his ministry, All Things Possible, Marx said he had traveled the globe to help tens of thousands of people victimized by trafficking and persecution or displaced by war.
Marx rejected Brown’s request . He called the letter “a staged ambush disguised as a debate” that would “compromise” people he worked with. Marx also accused Brown of being biased against him.
In a separate , Marx went on to announce a counter-rally to the debate and asked his supporters to spend their time with him, instead of watching the debate between Bottoms and Kirkmeyer.
As of Friday, Marx was still committed to a June 2 debate hosted by 9News. The primary election is June 30.
In an , the Centennial Institute, which is a conservative think tank, said it was “eager to find” an amenable resolution to the issue with Marx’s campaign, but the campaign did not cooperate. A podium, vacant or otherwise, will still be provided for him, the institute said.
“It is clear the Marx campaign was not looking for a solution; they were looking for an excuse to avoid a public debate against fellow candidates that would give voters the opportunity to compare and evaluate,” the statement said.
Marx has never held public office before, and Teske said that makes it even harder for voters to assess his policy positions. But if successful, his strategy could herald a new trend in campaigning — though Teske wondered how it would play in a general election.
Democrats have won every contest for Colorado governor since 2002, when Republican Bill Owens won his second term. In the last gubernatorial election, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis won reelection in 2022 by more than 19 percentage points.
This cycle, Marx, a political newcomer, hit the GOP nominating contest like a lightning bolt. The Colorado Springs-based pastor boasts hundreds of thousands of followers on YouTube and has raised nearly five times as much money for his election campaign — $2.5 million — as Kirkmeyer, the next-most moneyed Republican candidate. Despite already petitioning onto the June primary election ballot, Marx won nearly 40% of the vote at the Republican state assembly last month.
In announcing his counter-rally to the debate, Marx acknowledged that he had initially agreed to two debates with the candidates who qualified for the primary ballot. But he added that he had since claimed pole position in the race, and debates were to help candidates bolster their support.
There’s been little public polling released in the race. But earlier this month, a poll commissioned by a Marx-aligned independent expenditure committee showed him with from Republican and unaffiliated primary voters. It showed Kirkmeyer at 15% and Bottoms at 6%, with 19% undecided. Cygnal Research and Polling surveyed 606 Republican and unaffiliated voters intending to participate in the GOP primary, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.98 percentage points.
“We didn’t know we’d be winning by this much — which means I actually don’t even need to do a debate,” Marx said on YouTube.
In that Marx’s campaign referred The Post to, Marx spokesperson Rachael Flick said he was still holding rallies and showing up “everywhere.”
Marx’s opponents have blasted his decision.
“Victor Marx pulling out of the CCU debate on the 26th is a clear sign of weakness,” Bottoms, who won the state assembly vote, said in a statement. “He is afraid to stand in the arena. I am not dodging tough questions from respected moderators. I am stepping up, ready to defend my bold vision and take on the hard issues head-on while laying out a real plan to Reclaim Colorado.”
Kirkmeyer, who has the longest political resume in the race and is seen as the more moderate of the three candidates, likened Marx’s decision to President Joe Biden’s campaign attempting during the 2024 presidential race before he dropped out.
She predicted Marx would find a way to duck the second debate, too.
“One of the roles of the governor is to be a representative of the people. I just don’t know how he thinks he can fulfill that role when he’s not even willing to debate and show the people who he actually is,” Kirkmeyer said. “Quite frankly, I just think he’s chicken and he’s being a coward.”
