On primary night, Colorado Republicans were eager to open a general-election gift: socialist upstart Melat Kiros, trouncing entrenched 30-year incumbent Diana DeGette for the 1st Congressional District. 

But last week, ministry leader Victor Marx was declared the winner in the GOP race for governor. It was razor-thin, with little more than 2,000 votes separating Marx from state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer. 

With that call, Republicans’ Kiros advantage instantly evaporated. 

Kiros is an extreme socialist who favors eliminating private healthcare and abolishing ICE — plus a wealth tax, Green New Deal and sweeping AI regulation that will set back global competitiveness. 

She exhibits textbook Jew-hatred — calling for an end to all American military support for Israel, including defensive systems, while justifying Hamas’ brutality on October 7. She refuses to call the firebombing of Jewish marchers in Boulder last year antisemitic because she doesn’t know “what was in the heart of the perpetrator” or “what his intentions were.” 

This was an attempt to burn Jews in the street. Melat Kiros won’t label it. 

Her views are so far outside the mainstream that physician Shimon Blau felt compelled to offer Denver — especially its dominant Democrats — a viable, independent alternative. As The Gazette editorialized, his long shot bid “says a lot about how far their party has veered off course.” 

Unlike Kiros, Marx’s problem isn’t ideology. His campaign is scant on policy. It’s his background and campaign finance issues. 

Marx’s campaign website previously claimed his ministry rescued 45,000 women and children. In a bizarre 9News interview, he disowned the figure, blamed a contractor and refused to offer any number, citing “security.” 

Asked whether he’s killed anyone beyond the man he claims he shot at age 7 at his stepfather’s instruction, Marx paused for 10 seconds. “As a child, yes.” Pressed on adulthood: “Does it matter? … I don’t think that’s important.” 

No wonder Marx has already been lampooned by The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight. Those comedy shows always mock Republicans. That they singled out a Colorado GOP primary candidate says plenty about his general election liabilities. 

Democrats salivated over Marx’s candidacy. The ads write themselves. 

Then there’s the money. Marx’s reported cash on hand — some $210,000 — is currently on par with Democrat Phil Weiser’s. But more than half it is estimated to be owed in legally mandated refunds for excess donations. The latest example came June 30, when Marx’s campaign reported a $1,000 contribution that brought the donor’s total to $2,250 — $800 above the $1,450 legal limit. 

When Dan Maes became the ill-fated GOP nominee in 2010, he came out of nowhere to ride Tea Party passions and an inflated résumé to an undeserved nomination — an outsider whose background raised more questions than answers. 

Sound familiar? 

Maes scored just 11% in the general, far behind third-party candidate Tom Tancredo’s 36% and John Hickenlooper’s winning 51%.  

Still, Republicans held the attorney general’s office, flipped secretary of state, treasurer, the state House and the US House delegation to a 4-3 majority, and nearly unseated US Sen. Michael Bennet. 

The Maes debacle only hurt the top of the ticket. The difference in 2026 is that Marx is almost certain to drag down the rest of the ticket. 

This isn’t to say he’ll perform as badly. Marx’s strongest third-party challenger, Greg Lopez, has run before and briefly represented the 4th Congressional District. Yet he doesn’t have the name recognition or credentials of Tancredo, a five-term congressman and 2008 presidential contender. 

The real issue isn’t how Marx personally performs. It’s that, as political analyst and columnist Dick Wadhams told me on KOA, whereas Maes didn’t hurt the down-ticket in 2010, Marx is almost certain to drag down other Republicans through guilt by association. 

Already facing a Rocky Mountain climb, the GOP ticket can’t afford that. Republicans are led by a president deeply unpopular among Colorado’s unaffiliated voters, constituting 51% of the electorate, in a midterm year notoriously bad for the incumbent president’s party. 

The state party remains in shambles after years of infighting and elitist attitudes of so-called “grassroots activists” seeking to purge dissent. Within a week of Craig Steiner replacing Brita Horn as party chairman, purity testers who’d supported him were already calling for his removal. 

A credible Kirkmeyer candidacy — coupled with nominees Michael Allen, the El Paso County District Attorney, for attorney general and former state Senate President Kevin Grantham for treasurer — would have demonstrated to Coloradans that Republicans are serious. Marx’s nomination undermines that premise. 

Republicans will rightly make Democrats own socialist Kiros, but she’s only on the ballot in deep-blue Denver. Marx will be on every ballot. 

Secretary of State Jena Griswold is running for attorney general with a cash advantage and national connections. But her reputation as a resistance folk hero is built on MSNBC hits, not reality. She’s never tried a case, and her tenure is marred by hyper-partisanship, security lapses and historic staff turnover. She should be beatable. Instead, Marx risks dragging down her challenger, Michael Allen. 

That’s just one example. 

Republicans thought Denver Democrats had wrapped them a political gift. Instead, the GOP handed one right back. 

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.