To hear him tell it, Victor Marx has done many, many incredible things. Over his years as a Christian nationalist leader, author, and self-described \u201chigh risk missionary\u201d the Republican Party nominee for governor in Colorado has boasted<\/a> of having personally rescued thousands of people from conflict zones and attaining multiple black belts in various martial arts. After Marx launched his political career last year, these claims have been extensively questioned. Yet, even with all of these dubious heroics, there is probably no wilder part of Marx\u2019s mythos than his stories about performing what most people might call exorcisms and engaging in \u201cdemonic warfare.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, Talking Points Memo has unearthed audio of Marx detailing one of these encounters with arguably the most powerful demon of them all.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHey, I\u2019ve met the devil,\u201d Marx said. \u201cl\u2019ve met Satan in person, through a person.\u201d<\/p>\n Marx has tried to downplay his exorcism stories on the campaign trail. In an interview with Kyle Clark<\/a>, a reporter with the Denver NBC affiliate 9News, that aired in May, Marx quibbled with the term \u201cexorcist,\u201d suggested \u201cthat\u2019s a joke the way I say that,\u201d and claimed, \u201cI never call it possession.\u201d However, in the audio uncovered by TPM, Marx specifically says it was \u201cobvious\u201d the person he encountered was \u201cpossessed.\u201d<\/p>\n TPM previously reported<\/a> that Marx\u2019s 2024 book, \u201cThe Dangerous Gentleman: A Call for Men to be Courageous in a Culture of Fear,\u201d contains two tales of him grappling with demons as they inhabited people who underwent incredible physical transformations including displaying \u201creptilian\u201d eyes, \u201cpointy\u201d ears, and \u201csuperhuman strength.\u201d Marx specifically emphasized that there was photographic evidence of one of these transformations. He did not respond to emailed questions from TPM including a request that he provide the photo described in his book.\u00a0<\/p>\n Marx\u2019s description of the encounter with \u201cSatan\u201d goes far beyond anything in \u201cDangerous Gentleman.\u201d It came in a two-part<\/a> episode<\/a> of his podcast that was published on YouTube in February 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to tell you right now, I was praying for a girl in a youth prison, the largest one in Texas, maximum security,\u201d Marx said as he set the scene. \u201cThis girl started manifesting a demon. It was so real that all the other locked up girls, all the other gang members, man, they all kind of huddled in a corner.\u201d<\/p>\n The prison setting and other details from the story appear to match an incident described in \u201cDangerous Gentleman\u201d where Marx claimed an imprisoned girl \u201cturned reptilian\u201d<\/a> and he \u201ccould actually smell sulfur and rotten eggs.\u201d On his podcast, Marx went even further and said he suddenly received an ominous answer when he asked the \u201cdemon\u201d its name.<\/p>\n \u201cI am Satan,\u201d Marx recalled the entity saying in a deep growl.<\/p>\n Marx, who said he had \u201cnever really dealt with something that intense\u201d made clear he meant this all seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think I\u2019m joking, I\u2019m not,\u201d he said while telling the story.<\/p>\n He also described his own fear at the encounter.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis demon was \u2014 it was horrible \u2014 just really manifested pretty nasty,\u201d Marx said, adding. \u201cIt\u2019s a little girl. \u2026 She\u2019s a little girl, a pretty girl, just adorable, just like a little girl you want to bring home and just make her your daughter, except she had a demon in her.\u201d<\/p>\n Marx also detailed some of their conversation where, contrary to his more recent statements, described the girl as \u201cpossessed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll of a sudden this demon goes, \u2018I guess you\u2019re going to say I\u2019m possessed.\u2019\u201d And I just \u2014 I just started laughing,\u201d Marx recounted. \u201cI was like, \u2018I don\u2019t think I have to. It\u2019s kind of obvious.\u2019 I mean, really, that\u2019s \u2014 I just snickered, which makes the devil mad.\u201d<\/p>\n Marx did not respond to requests for comment from TPM including specific questions about whether he has any documentary evidence of the alleged encounter and the fact his podcast is\u00a0 at odds with his more recent remarks. He concluded the tale by claiming he was victorious over \u201cSatan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, \u2018Well, whoever you are, you know, Christ, you got to come under authority of the Lord Jesus Christ right now,\u2019\u201d Marx said. \u201cBecause, see, Satan, he\u2019s not equal to God. He\u2019s a created being. He\u2019s a fallen angel, right? Long story longer, that girl did get delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n In June, Marx defeated three other candidates in Colorado\u2019s Republican gubernatorial primary. His main current opponent is the state\u2019s attorney general, Phil Weiser, a Democrat. While Marx is seen as a longshot, discussions of the spiritual realm and what Marx and others describe as \u201cspiritual warfare\u201d are becoming increasingly common<\/a> in right-wing and Christian nationalist circles. This rhetoric is particularly inflammatory since it can \u2014 quite literally \u2014 be used to demonize political rivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Marx\u2019s wild tales and supposed battles with \u201cdemons\u201d are increasingly becoming an issue in his race. Last week, Marx skipped a debate<\/a> with Weiser and independent candidate Greg Lopez amid mounting scrutiny over his past remarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Weiser\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on this story. Kailee Stiles, a spokesperson for the Colorado Democratic Party, suggested Marx\u2019s extraordinary tales call his fitness into question.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cVictor Marx doesn\u2019t just tell outrageous stories about himself \u2014 he insists that they\u2019re what qualifies him to be governor,\u201d Stiles told TPM. \u201cWe know the reality: Marx is a reckless extremist and shows utter contempt for women. He has absolutely no place anywhere near elected office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n