By Quentin Young | editor
“If Marx is taking money for his merchandise without reporting it, he has committed likely hundreds of violations.”
— Darcy Schoening, a former state GOP party official, on Victor Marx, the party’s nominee for governor
Victor Marx, then a Republican candidate for governor, participates in a forum hosted by Colorado business groups in Glendale on May 28, 2026. (Photo by Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
By Chase Woodruff
Victor Marx, the Colorado Republican Party’s nominee for governor, is “committing blatant criminal (acts)” by accepting unlimited campaign contributions through his online merchandise store, a GOP operative wrote in a campaign finance complaint filed Monday. The complaint, filed with the Colorado secretary of state’s office by Darcy Schoening, a former state party official, follows Marx’s solicitation, first reported by 9News last week, of unlimited donations through his website, a scheme that one campaign finance attorney described as “patently illegal.”
Centennial Gun Club in Centennial, Colorado, pictured on June 12, 2026. (Photo by Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)
By Sara Wilson
There were nearly three times as many firearm background checks last month in Colorado than in July 2025 amid a steep increase of gun purchases ahead of a new permit-to-purchase law going into effect. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation reported about 59,500 background checks last month, compared to about 20,200 in July 2025. Those background checks are required by law for firearm purchases and transfers. The most background checks occurred on July 25, with 3,710 submitted on that Saturday, according to CBI data. Daily numbers in July 2025 rarely surpassed 1,000.
Canvassers received petition packets as they prepared to gather signatures in support of a graduated income tax ballot measure at a Protect Colorado’s Future event in Denver on July 18, 2026. (Photo by Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
By Chase Woodruff
The supporters of a citizen initiative to put a graduated income-tax system in the Colorado constitution said Monday that they had submitted more than 157,000 signatures — more than the required 124,238 — to the Colorado secretary of state’s office as they seek to qualify for the November ballot. The secretary of state’s office must verify the signatures before the measure qualifies for the ballot. Initiative 195 would hike the tax rate to 7.4% for income above $500,000 and gradually increase the rate to 8.4% for income above $1 million. Those higher rates would apply to the top 3% of earners, while the 97% of Coloradans who earn less than $500,000 per year would see a slight income tax reduction.
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