2026-07-09T22:53:18.545Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
美国海军陆战队退伍军人维克多·马克思曾发表诸多离谱言论——包括声称自己7岁时被迫杀害一名男子——这些言论引发广泛关注和强烈质疑。CNN决策项目组预测，马克思将赢得科罗拉多州州长竞选的共和党提名。
马克思是一名教会领袖，同时也是武术爱好者，在社交媒体上拥有一批忠实追随者。他击败了两位经验更丰富的竞争对手：州参议员芭芭拉·柯克迈耶和州众议员斯科特·巴托姆斯。两人均曾表态，若马克思成为共和党提名候选人，他们不会为其背书。
不过，在大选中，马克思将面临重重挑战，以接替即将卸任的民主党州长贾里德·波利斯。该州已有二十余年未选出共和党州长。11月，马克思将与该州总检察长、民主党人菲尔·韦瑟展开角逐。
在6月30日的选举之夜派对上，马克思将自己的竞选描述为“简直不可思议”，并表示他对抗了所有质疑其人生经历的民主党人和共和党人。
“这是一场善与恶的较量。早已无关党派之争，”马克思对人群说道，“这关乎那些心怀善意、渴望常识、期盼小政府、停止开支、控制犯罪、让执法部门履职尽责、让本州负担得起、帮助人们摆脱成瘾循环的科罗拉多州民众。所有这些重要的议题，从一开始就是我们的竞选主题。而我们的对手自始至终都在攻击我。”
马克思自称“高风险人道主义者”，领导着一家反人口贩卖非营利组织，同时也是“卡真空手道”的实践者。他个性鲜明，获得了基层保守派的共鸣，推动他战胜了那些质疑其言论的批评者。他的离奇说法包括救援虐待受害者、下令空袭打击极端组织“伊斯兰国”（ISIS）等。
今年5月在接受当地新闻机构9新闻台采访时，马克思坚称自己所言属实，但往往拒绝提供细节，比如他所谓下令空袭的具体情况。
当被问及他声称童年时被迫杀害的那名男子是否是他唯一的杀人对象时，马克思停顿后回答：“嗯，就童年时期而言，是的。”
“但我也曾身处其他情境，你知道，可能有其他人因我自卫或为其他国家作战而死亡，”他补充道。当被追问是否认为自己成年后杀过人时，马克思反问道：“这重要吗？”
他还因竞选网站上的一则声明受到审查，该声明称“他的团队已为超过4.5万名妇女和儿童提供服务，其中许多人从被囚禁状态中获救，获得了第二次生命”。这一表述随后被删除。马克思表示，网站最初搭建时，这段话可能来自一名独立承包商。
当被追问拯救了多少名妇女和儿童时，马克思称“没有必要”公布具体数字，理由是“安全原因”。
“我只能说，不止一个，但没到一堆那么多，”马克思打趣道。
马克思还称，他曾进行数百次祈祷，以帮助人们摆脱“恶魔压迫”，他认为这与驱魔不同。他告诉9新闻台，他不收取这项服务的费用，可当面或通过电话提供。
当被问及如果当选州长是否会继续开展此类活动时，马克思说：“我永远不会停止为人们祈祷。”
上个月，在他唯一参加的那场辩论中，马克思遭到了共和党对手的联合抨击。
2022年当选州议员的福音派牧师巴托姆斯重申了此前的言论，称马克思是个骗子：“我还说过他腐败，他撒谎，还不止一次当面对我撒谎，所以我坚持我的看法。我绝不会把这样的人，甚至比民主党人更甚的人，选进州长办公室。”
巴托姆斯聚焦强硬保守派议题，其竞选活动围绕该州农村居民权益、父母权利、文化战争辩论以及限制政府规模和职权范围展开。但他在此次竞选期间也受到了审查，因为他毫无根据地反复声称州议员参与了儿童性交易团伙活动。
柯克迈耶是科罗拉多州共和党政坛的资深人士，曾任韦尔德县专员，被视为此次竞选中更为传统的候选人。她同样称马克思是个“骗子”。
“他编造这些荒诞不经的故事，这些天方夜谭，我根本不信，”她说。随后直接对马克思补充道：“我无法信任你。你不称职。你不符合资格。”
当被9新闻台主持人凯尔·克拉克追问选民如何能相信他所言属实的时候，马克思说：“如果我拥有一段不平凡的人生，我也无能为力，”并辩称有成千上万人可以为他的说法作证。
尽管遭到诸多批评，马克思还是成功地将自己与竞争对手区分开来，逐渐扭转了柯克迈耶早期的领先优势，随着选票持续清点，他反超对手。
“听着，结果还没定论，”选举之夜的现场欢呼声和会意笑声中，马克思告诉支持者们，他们还得再等等才能知道最终结果。“如果你了解我们的人生故事，这就是我们的常态。”
Victor Marx, a self-described ‘high-risk humanitarian,’ will win GOP nomination for Colorado governor, CNN projects
2026-07-09T22:53:18.545Z / CNN
Marine veteran Victor Marx, whose wild claims – including saying he was forced to kill a man at age 7 – have drawn widespread attention and significant skepticism, will win the Republican nomination for governor in Colorado, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
Marx, a ministry leader and martial arts enthusiast with a devoted social media following, prevailed over two more experienced rivals, state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and state Rep. Scott Bottoms, both of whom have said they wouldn’t endorse him if he’s the party’s nominee.
He faces difficult odds, however, in the general election to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in a state that has not elected a Republican governor in more than two decades. Marx will face Democrat Phil Weiser, the state’s attorney general, in November.
At his election night party on June 30, Marx described his campaign as “nothing shy of beyond incredible,” saying he had taken on Democrats and Republicans alike who brought up questions about his life story.
“This is a battle of good and evil. This isn’t so much parties anymore,” Marx told the crowd. “This is about Coloradans who care and want common sense, less government, stop the spending, get crime under control, let law enforcement do their job, make our state affordable, get people out of the addiction cycle. All these things that matter, that’s what we’ve talked about from the beginning. Our opponents have simply attacked me the entire time.”
A self-described “high-risk humanitarian” who leads an anti-human trafficking nonprofit and a practitioner of “Cajun Karate,” Marx’s colorful personality resonated with grassroots conservatives, powering him past skeptics who raised questions about his claims, which range from rescuing abuse victims to ordering an airstrike targeting ISIS.
In an interview with local news outlet 9News in May, Marx insisted he was telling the truth but often declined to provide details, such as how he allegedly ordered the airstrike.
When asked if that man he claimed to have been forced to kill as a child is the only person he has killed, Marx paused before responding: “Well, I would say, as a child, yes.”
“But I’ve been in other situations where, you know, possibly, people or persons died as a result of me defending myself and other countries,” he added. Pressed if he thought he had killed people as an adult, Marx asked, “Does it matter?”
He also faced scrutiny over a claim on his campaign website that said “his teams have served over 45,000 women and children, many rescued from captivity and given a second chance at life,” which was later removed. Marx suggested that the line could have come from an independent contractor when the website was first built.
When pressed about how many women and children he has saved, Marx said there is “no need to” give the number out, pointing to “security reasons.”
“I would say it’s more than one and less than a bunch,” Marx quipped.
Marx has also said he has performed hundreds of prayers to “set people free” from “demonic oppression,” which he argues is different from exorcisms. He told 9News that he doesn’t charge for the service, which he conducts in person and over the phone.
When asked if he’ll continue to perform these acts if elected governor, Marx said, “I would never stop praying for people.”
Last month, at the lone debate he attended, Marx faced a pile-on from his GOP opponents.
Bottoms, an evangelical pastor elected to the state legislature in 2022, doubled down on his previous comments calling Marx a con man, saying, “I also said he was corrupt and I also said he lies and he lied to me personally quite a few times, and so I stand by that. I can’t put somebody like that anymore than I can put a Democrat into the governor’s seat.”
Leaning into hardline conservative issues, Bottoms focused his campaign on the state’s rural residents, parental rights and culture war debates, and limiting the size and scope of government. But he’s faced scrutiny of his own in the race, as he repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that state lawmakers are participating in a child sex trafficking ring.
Kirkmeyer, a veteran of Colorado GOP politics who previously served as a Weld County commissioner and was seen as the more traditional candidate in the race, also cast Marx as a “fraud.”
“He makes up these tall tales, these tall stories, and I just don’t believe them,” she said. Directly addressing him, she added, “I can’t trust you. You’re unfit. You’re unqualified.”
When pressed by moderator Kyle Clark of 9News about how voters could trust he was telling the truth, Marx said, “I can’t help it if I’ve had an extraordinary life,” and argued that thousands of people could testify to his claims.
Amid a chorus of criticism, however, Marx was able to separate himself from his rivals to his advantage, gradually overtaking Kirkmeyer’s early lead as votes continued to be tallied.
“Listen, it ain’t over,” Marx said to cheers and appreciative laughter on election night as he told supporters they would have to wait to see who won. “And if you know our life story, this is our normal.”