George Markert is the retired Marine colonel tapped by Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx to serve as his running mate. When it came time for him to select a running mate, he and his team did a very exhaustive search. I had been known to a lot of people in the state after running for office myself. Explain to voters why you feel you know this state well enough to be one of its top leaders? Markert: I’m sure we probably have a slight difference of opinion on some micro issues.