by Michael Johnson, staff writer
In a rare opportunity to question Colorado gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx, student journalists from across the state turned their attention to issues ranging from classroom funding to criminal justice and religious freedom.
During the virtual interview Wednesday, Oct. 21, Marx was asked whether Colorado’s public universities could lose state funding over policies conflicting with his Christian beliefs. “Absolutely not,” he said.
Marx, a Republican candidate for governor, pointed to the state’s motto, Nil Sine Numine, to explain why his faith matters to him, but rejected withholding university funding over religious disagreements.
“I’m not becoming governor to be an evangelist, to evangelize the state,” Marx said. He described his goal as upholding the constitution and making Colorado safer and more affordable.
The interview also turned to a reported 2024 sexual assault at Colorado State University. The moderator asked whether Marx would order an independent state review after Fort Collins police closed their investigation without requesting criminal charges. A former CSU student filed a civil lawsuit this month alleging she was assaulted by a fraternity member. CSU separately found the accused student responsible for violating its sexual assault policy and suspended him for a year.
Marx briefly invoked a personal experience involving his family before responding to the question.
“I will absolutely open this up again,” he said. He did not explain what process his administration would use for such a review.
Asked by Juila Wildman of Colorado Mesa University about sentencing and taxpayer costs, Marx defended tougher punishment for violent crimes while also supporting rehabilitation and judicial discretion. He recalled spending more than a decade working with young people in juvenile prisons, saying those experiences shaped his view of accountability.
“I do believe that harsher penalties against violent crime actually work,” he said.
Research summarized by the National Institute of Justice finds that the likelihood of being caught generally deters crime more effectively than increases in sentence severity. Marx said he would evaluate sentencing policy through public safety, repeat-offense rates, fairness and cost.
On education funding, Marx was asked about Colorado’s below-average beginning teacher pay and per-student expenditures. He said teacher compensation should improve, especially in rural and underserved communities, and argued that the state needs to examine how much education funding reaches classrooms.
“I want school districts to improve, starting with teacher salaries, particularly in rural and underserved communities, where recruiting and actually just retaining good educators is difficult,” he said.
His campaign platform proposes audits of district management and caps on non-instructional spending growth to redirect money towards teachers. He gave no specific salary or spending target during the interview.
Religious and political differences also surfaced in questions from Abigail Hill of Colorado College and Alexander Zimac of Front Range Community College. Marx drew on humanitarian work alongside people from different religious background to describe the kind of dialogue he wanted on college campuses.
“I’ve learned that you don’t have to agree with someone to respect them, to work with them, or even become friends,” he said.
In the final exchange, Zimac asked whether higher education should prepare students for careers or develop their intellectual independence. Marx said colleges should do both, while being transparent about tuition, debt and employment outcomes. He also stressed the value of apprenticeships and technical training.
“Education, it should prepare you to make a living and also prepare you to make a difference,” he said.
