Victor Marx is a Christian Republican from Colorado Springs running for governor of Colorado. But he says he is not running to “be an evangelist” or to evangelize the state.
“I’m becoming governor to uphold our Constitution and to make our state safe again,” Marx, a high-profile Christian ministry leader and first-time candidate, said during an Oct. 21 virtual press conference for student journalists.
He claimed that Colorado’s motto, “Nil Sine Numine,” Latin for “Nothing without Providence or Deity,” is inherently Christian and the Founding Fathers wrote Christianity into the Constitution.
The phrase comes from Virgil’s “Aeneid,” an ancient Greek epic poem. Colorado’s first territorial governor chose the motto.
Marx faces long-shot odds against Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, whom even some high-profile Republicans expect will win handily. Colorado has not elected a Republican governor in 20 years.
Marx says he is running to “Take Back Colorado,” and is focusing on restoring “law and order, affordability and accountability to Colorado.” He has spent most of his life working with Christian organizations, including Focus on the Family and his personal ministry, All Things Possible.
When asked about his vision for unity on college campuses with diverse religious beliefs, Marx answered that he expects “public institutions to protect free expression and religious liberty fairly, regardless of your viewpoint.” He added that the “First Amendment actually is something that’s a beautiful thing for our country.”
Historically, governors have had limited ability to punish students for their political or religious beliefs.
The First Amendment supports students’ right to political expression. The Denver-based nonprofit Education Commission of the States, an organization that brings together state policymakers and education leaders to inform education policy, says the decision to expel students for their political expression “ultimately rests with university or system leadership.”
Colorado College released a new Freedom of Expression policy in December 2025. The Catalyst previously reported that the new policy is longer and more detailed than the previous one. “Where the former FOE policy focused on actions that were prohibited on campus, the new policy places more focus on harm prevention,” the paper reported.
The college defines Freedom of Expression as “the right to use words, symbols, sounds, movements or engage in other actions to share thoughts, emotions, experiences and beliefs; discuss ideas; participate in the life of a community; and engage in self-realization.” Critically, it notes nothing specific about religious expression.
While the First Amendment largely protects freedom of expression on college campuses, when it jeopardizes safety and property, interferes with the ability of others to be heard or inhibits members of CC from taking part in its educational purpose, it becomes prohibited or subject to regulation under CC’s manual.
In my conversations with roughly a dozen primarily first-year students this week, most said they were not familiar with the policy. However, they had their own views about freedom of expression on campus.
“The most important thing would be to not be biased,” Sienna Kittles ‘30 said about what CC should be prioritising in its Freedom of Expression Policy. She added that administrators should allow students to express whatever beliefs they want without “having a bias towards one over the other.”
Another student, Violet Hay ‘30, said, “I feel like there’s a lot of encouragement to participate in different religions.”
Not everyone, though, feels they can say what they think even if they have the right.
Kara Reida ‘30 said some of her friends from other countries worry about their immigration status for being too political on campus. The State Department recently announced expanded screening and vetting of visa applicants’ social media accounts, including those of international college students.
That “sucks,” she said, because a lot of them are very “politically minded.”
At the end of the day, it’s not about whether our political or religious freedom of expression is protected in name and law; the problem lies more in the unsaid than the spoken.
“Unity doesn’t mean everybody thinks alike and I think that’s where we’ve gotten off track
lately,” Marx said in the press conference. “But it means we can recognize other people, and still give dignity to them.”
Recognition is only the first piece of the puzzle when it comes to Colorado citizens’ freedom of expression. Diversity of perspective needs to be both recognized and protected and this is where the call to dignity lies.
The United States Constitution was built on the political truth that religious belief comes second to the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Speaking of unity as a shared dignity is one thing, but acting in ways that dignify people of diverse religious beliefs and ethnicities is another. Unity can only be protected when every voice feels they have inherent value, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Does Marx support this value?
While Marx’s deeply religious beliefs don’t necessarily mean he would suppress religious freedom, his rhetoric should continue to be monitored to ensure he would support a state of and by all people.