Retired Marine Col. George Markert Chosen as Victor Marx’s Running Mate

"From my standpoint, I saw that as a moral obligation to serve the people of Colorado."

George Markert didn’t just accept the job; he says he was called to it. The retired Marine colonel, standing just outside the political establishment’s usual circles, accepted Victor Marx’s offer to be his running mate in the gubernatorial race with the gravity of a soldier taking orders. It wasn’t a casual networking event. It was, in his words, a "moral obligation."

The Colorado Sun caught up with Markert recently to peel back the layers of a man who is, by all accounts, a newcomer to the state’s political stage. He moved to Colorado just three years ago, trading thirty years of service in the Marines for a life in the Centennial State. At 54, he is a married father of two, and while he is fresh to the geography, he is not exactly fresh to the grind. He was, after all, running for the U.S. Senate this year. He just didn’t make the cut.

The rejection from the Republican state assembly in April didn’t break him. It sharpened him.

"Nothing went wrong," Markert told the Sun. "I actually ran a very good campaign."

He claims he raised more money than the eventual nominee, state Sen. Mark Baisley. The loss, he argues, wasn’t about performance or purse strings. It was about the assembly voters looking at the endorsements and the four nominations, then casting their ballots accordingly. He respects their votes. But he believes the "splash" he made at that assembly event is precisely what drew Marx’s attention.

The search for a lieutenant governor was exhaustive. Marx’s team interviewed at least a dozen people. Markert knew he was in the mix because he had become known to many in the state during his own run. People approached him. They asked if he was willing to serve again. He said, "Yeah, let’s have a conversation."

Over the course of a week, he linked up with Marx’s team. They talked. They weighed options. Then, the day before the official announcement, the call came. Would he be the running mate?

Now, Markert is part of another longshot bid. He and Marx are trying to become the first Republicans to lead Colorado in two decades. It’s a steep climb, but Markert has a clear triad of priorities if he makes it to the second-highest office in the land.

Affordability. Safety. Transparency.

"No. 2 is safety — public safety and fighting crime and lawlessness," he said, listing the pillars of his platform. He wants to tackle national issues, but from a state-level lens. He sees the lieutenant governor’s role as a place to enforce accountability and cut through the noise of government bureaucracy.

It’s a pivot from the Senate race. He wanted to work on national issues as a senator. Now, he wants to fix the state. And he’s betting that his military background, his recent political visibility, and his willingness to take the "challenge and the responsibility" will resonate with voters who are tired of the status quo.

The part everyone skips past is the timing. He moved here three years ago. He ran for Senate this year. He lost. And now he’s asking for a spot in the governor’s chair’s shadow. It’s a rapid ascent, fueled by a network of fellow Marines and a campaign team that saw something in the colonel that they wanted to harness.

Stand there long enough and you start to see the pattern. It’s not just about policy papers or budget spreadsheets. It’s about connection. Marines connect with Marines. Marx knew that. Markert knows that. And now, the rest of the state gets to decide if that connection is enough to bridge the gap.