Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx said on Tuesday that he will participate in only one debate with Attorney General Phil Weiser before the November election — and he challenged the Democratic nominee to hold the event without a moderator.

“I’m only doing one debate,” Marx said in a video posted online. “That is my strategy.”

Noting that it’s the same approach he took in the GOP primary — where Marx, a Christian ministry leader and first-time candidate, narrowly defeated two veteran state lawmakers to win the nomination after debating just once — Marx went on to address Weiser directly.

“I’m challenging you to a debate with no moderator,” Marx said. “This is going to be a time for us to actually tell the good folks of Colorado what we’re going to do — not make empty promises, but what we’re going to do, and show them how.”

A spokesman for Weiser’s campaign dismissed the proposal in a message to Colorado Politics.

“We only consider serious offers for serious debates,” Weiser communications director Nate Jackson said in a text message.

Marx’s tack marks a sharp departure from recent campaigns for Colorado’s top executive office, which have featured multiple televised debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor, all of which included moderators.

In the state’s last gubernatorial race, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who was seeking reelection to a second term, sparred on the debate stage with 2022 Republican nominee Heidi Ganahl four times, with events in Pueblo, Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction.

Four years earlier, Polis, who was nearing the end of his fifth term in Congress, debated two-term State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, the GOP nominee, eight times in locations across the state in the months preceding the general election.

Days before Marx’s announcement, Weiser’s campaign confirmed that he will participate in a televised debate on Aug. 27 in Colorado Springs, sponsored by Colorado Politics, The Gazette, KOAA-TV and the El Pomar Foundation.

Independent candidate Greg Lopez, a former Republican member of Congress, had also earlier accepted the debate invitation, pending his qualification for the general election ballot, which became official on Tuesday.

In an email to the debate’s debate organizers sent Tuesday morning, Buddy Jericho, the Marx campaign’s general consultant, declined the invitation and elaborated on the campaign’s decision to take part in just one debate.

“We will work directly with Phil Weiser’s campaign to determine the appropriate format, host, timing, location, and other details for that debate,” Jericho wrote. “Because we are limiting our participation to one debate, we will not consider or participate in additional debate invitations.”

Added Jericho: “Victor believes this campaign should be centered on the people of Colorado, not the political establishment or a schedule of events designed primarily for political insiders. Our priority is to earn the trust of voters and demonstrate that we are prepared to govern on their behalf from day one.”

Organizers of the Aug. 27 debate said Wednesday that the debate will proceed with Weiser and Lopez. Set to broadcast live on KOAA-TV and stream on the media outlets’ platforms, the event is scheduled to kick off with an hourlong debate between Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank and his Democratic challenger, Jessica Killin, followed by the gubernatorial face-off.