May 11, 2026 01:30 PM UTC

Is Victor Marx the GOP Gubernatorial Frontrunner?

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• by: Colorado Pols

According to new poll results from “Freedom IEC,” an Independent Expenditure Committee supporting Victor Marx for Governor, the Cajun Karate Master is running away with the Republican nomination for Governor in 2026.

These poll results come via right-wing radio blowhard Jeff Hunt, who is no way unbiased in this race; Hunt has been in the tank for Marx for months. But it is not illogical to believe that Marx might be pulling away from the rest of a weak field that includes State Sen. “Both Ways” Barb Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott “Rock” Bottoms.

The Freedom IEC poll, conducted by CYGNAL Research & Polling, shows Marx at 59% of the vote among Republican Primary voters, followed by Kirkmeyer at 15% and Bottoms at a measly 6%.

We have no doubt that Bottoms is polling in single digits; his complete inability to raise money is a clear sign that there is no real support for his candidacy. Because Bottoms finished the last quarter with just $8k in the bank, he also has no ability to improve his name ID before ballots start going out in the mail on June 8.

Kirkmeyer’s numbers are a tad surprising. The Weld County Republican has served in elected office for more than a decade, and she’s just four years removed from a 2022 Congressional campaign in CO-08 in which her name and face saturated airwaves for months in the Denver Metro area. Of course, Kirkmeyer has also been a poor fundraiser and hasn’t been able to do much to get her name out in the last 9 months. Both Bottoms and Kirkmeyer have also been preoccupied with serving in the state legislature since January.

Marx has a strong social media presence thanks to his snake-oil salesman career as a “ministry leader” with a tough guy persona — an advantage that has no doubt played a big role in allowing him to raise $1.2 million in the last quarter. Marx is also refusing to show up to GOP debates, which is a sign that his campaign doesn’t feel that there is any benefit to joining Kirkmeyer and Bottoms on stage (in fairness, this is also a strategic decision based on the fact that Marx knows very little about state government).

Victor Marx probably doesn’t really have a 40+ point lead in the GOP gubernatorial Primary, though it seems likely that he is well ahead of both Kirkmeyer and Bottoms entering the final weeks of the race to decide which Republican will get hammered by the Democratic nominee in November.