Marine Corps veteran Victor Marx won the Republican primary for Colorado governor on Thursday.

Marx defeated state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, his stiffest competition in the June 30 election. Too many votes remained outstanding after election night to call the tight race, but most counties, including the largest ones, have now reported their final results.

A third candidate, state Rep. Scott Bottoms, trailed both Marx and Kirkmeyer.

Marx will face Democrat Phil Weiser, the state attorney general, in November.

Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican as governor in more than two decades, and the state backed Democrat Kamala Harris for president by more than 10 points over Donald Trump in 2024.

Marx is something of a wild card candidate with an eclectic past. He made big claims about his life, including that his abusive stepfather forced Marx, at 7 years old, to kill a man.

Marx led the GOP field in fundraising, with about $2.8 million in contributions and about $200,000 in the bank heading into the campaign’s final 20-day stretch. Marx more than doubled Kirkmeyer’s and Bottoms’ combined totals in each category.

Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, is term-limited.

The Associated Press