Victor Marx’s bid to become Colorado’s next governor faces multiple challenges, from the increasing number of prominent Republicans who have refused to support him, to the number of campaign finance complaints one of those Republicans has filed against him. Twenty-three complaints were filed by seven different people. Of the 21 that haven’t been dismissed, former GOP staffer Darcy Schoening submitted 19, most of which address the campaign’s repeated acceptance of contributions over the legal limit.
Last Friday Marx’s campaign informed the Secretary of State’s office that it either had already or planned to cure all the violations of excessive donations enumerated in the majority of Schoening’s complaints. Those complaints have been consolidated by the Elections Division, which now proposes to fine the Marx campaign over $50,000 – the largest ever proposed – for accepting literally hundreds of donations that exceed the campaign finance limits.
On Sept. 10, the Secretary of State Elections Division and the Marx campaign will participate in a virtual hearing to debate the proposed penalty. In its pre-hearing notice, the Elections Division laid out its reasoning for its fine and noted that part of its analysis included “whether noncompliance may properly be viewed as an intentional attempt to mislead the electorate or election officials.”
Schoening’s other complaints focus on the Victor Marx 2026 online merchandise store, which may or may not be owned by Victor Marx himself, and which may or may not benefit the campaign. The website has been taken down, but the campaign finance complaints it generated remain under investigation.
Her initial merch store complaint, which has been extensively reported by 9News, addresses the campaign’s apparent attempt to outsource sales of clothing and signs to a separate company, Not Shook LLC, which it then also reported to the Elections Division is owned by Victor Marx. The campaign, which openly stated that the purpose was to avoid contribution limits, has since claimed that the filing indicating Marx’s ownership was in error.
The campaign has notified the SOS that it intends to cure the violations that the Elections Division determined indeed warranted investigation. The Victor2026Merch.com website is no longer active, which may be an initial step in the cure process, but presumably not the only one, as the campaign has claimed the merch store had generated nearly $200,000, which hasn’t been accounted for. Marx’s attorney, Chris Murray of the First & Fourteenth law firm, said on-air that this outsourcing was his idea to save the campaign the logistical hassle of online retailing.
“So what the campaign was trying to avoid is having to deal with selling merchandise online, right? Being the one who’s responsible for fulfilling all of those orders,” said Murray. “That’s why I said, ‘Hey, we’re just going to get rid of this and let somebody else do it.’ None of that money comes to the campaign. The campaign doesn’t get the benefit of any of that money.”
The campaign continues to sell at least some merchandise directly. In a Sept. 3 response to comments in the Coloradans for Victor Marx Facebook group by supporters asking about the merch store site being down, administrator Leah Slay offered the following explanation. “Hey everyone, the merch store is currently on a pause at the moment. We will be selling merch at all the events and doing pop ups around the state so stay tuned!”
Furthermore, the merch store that Murray says is owned by a “third-party” isn’t just slinging shirts; it’s purchased Facebook ads for the campaign. Facebook’s Ad Library shows five Victor Marx campaign ads that ran from July 31 through Aug. 23 that were labeled as “Paid for by Victor Marx Merch.” The campaign’s deadline for notifying the Election Division that it intends to cure the violation is next Friday, Sept. 11.
Six days later, the Elections Division determined that this too “identified one or more potential violations of Colorado campaign finance law, and it alleged sufficient facts to support a legal and factual basis regarding the alleged violations.”
Schoening filed her most recent complaint after seeing campaign fundraiser emails that offered tickets including “merch bundles,” despite the campaign’s claim that it had outsourced its merchandise sales to a private company. The Elections Division’s review of the complaint is also due by Sept. 11.
Reached via text, Schoening expressed confidence in the state’s case against Marx.
“The Secretary of State is going as hard on Victor Marx as they ever have as far as fines are concerned, and this speaks volumes,” said Schoening. “His next complaints at bat to cure are nearly impossible. I’m confident the attorneys bringing this before the Hearing Officer next week have initiated a case that will have lasting implications not only on this campaign and election cycle, but more importantly on our campaign finance laws. Furthermore, why should voters comply with any laws when a candidate for the highest office in the state flagrantly ignores them?”
Murray did not respond to an email request for comment as to why the campaign couldn’t cure the excessive donations and prevent next week’s hearing, as well as clarification as to the relationship between the campaign and the merch store. This article will be updated with any response received.
