Marine Veteran Launches Unprecedented Mission Against Socialist Takeover Unfolding in His State

Liberty Check

• All-Marine Republican ticket formed to combat rising democratic socialism in Colorado
• DSA-backed candidates scoring primary wins across the state while pushing police abolition
• Crime rates in Colorado running 28-41% higher than national average as leftist policies take hold

Republican Colorado gubernatorial nominee and Marine veteran Victor Marx is assembling an unprecedented all-Marine ticket designed to bring military discipline and accountability to a state government he says is being overrun by socialist ideology.

“There’s never been a successful socialism program, and I’ll say socialism, it’s just a transitionary word for communism. Let’s just say it for what it is,” Marx told Fox News Digital.

Marx won Colorado’s primary in June on a platform centered on public safety, traditional values, and tackling the cost of living crisis. His victory came as the Democratic Party’s radical wing scored a series of stunning primary wins nationally, including in Colorado, where democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated longtime incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette.

Kiros’ victory extended a disturbing trend of progressive and democratic socialist candidates gaining ground across the country.

Marx’s solution to what he describes as socialism’s advance: Send in the Marines. He has selected retired Marine Col. George Markert as his running mate, creating the first all-Marine gubernatorial ticket in recent memory.

“People know what they’re going to get when they get Marines. We’ve got hard foreheads, steely spines. And high integrity,” Marx said.

Markert brings over 30 years of Marine Corps leadership experience, including senior assignments at U.S. Central Command and the 2nd and 4th Marine Logistics Groups. He later transitioned to the private sector, overseeing infrastructure operations across North America.

Marx, who founded All Things Possible Ministries, is positioning himself and Markert as political outsiders with the discipline needed to confront an organized socialist movement.

He contrasted their approach with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which he described as “organized, they’re well-funded, they are focused on reshaping Colorado from the top down.”

The DSA, which endorsed Kiros, openly supports the eventual abolition of police—a radical position that places public safety at the center of Colorado’s political divide.

That debate intensifies as Colorado continues to struggle with crime rates significantly above national levels. In 2024, Colorado recorded approximately 476 violent crimes and 2,593 property crimes per 100,000 residents—roughly 28% and 41% higher, respectively, than national rates calculated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“They’re more focused on policing speech than protecting families. While residents are worried about crime, gang activity, state leaders are advancing this ideology with policies that threaten our free speech and punish people for the beliefs,” Marx said.

Marx criticized his opponent, Colorado Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, arguing that bloated government spending has failed to deliver results for hardworking Coloradans.

Weiser has repeatedly challenged the Trump administration in court as attorney general, including over efforts to restrict birthright citizenship and enforce immigration policies.

“[H]e hasn’t made our state safer. It’s softer on crime, and we’ve experienced it,” Marx said. “So folks are ready for a change.”

Marx said government officials in Colorado are failing as “hardworking taxpayers” are “paying more while the government delivers less.”

“We’re one election away. It’s either me, or it’s a Democrat. And I lay the DSA at the Democrats’ feet. It didn’t come through the Republican Party or Independents. It came through the Democrats,” Marx said.

The Constitution must be defended.