Democratic Representative Jared Polis
on Tuesday defeated Republican Walker Stapleton to become Colorado's
next governor.
Polis becomes the first openly gay
person to win a gubernatorial race in the United States. (Oregon
Governor Kate Brown is openly bisexual and married to a man, while
former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevy came out after he was
elected.)
The 43-year-old Polis, a five-term
congressman, invested a record $22 million of his own money in
campaigning to replace Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper, who
could not run because of term limits.
Polis, the first openly gay man to be
elected to Congress – former Massachusetts Representative Barney
Frank confirmed he's gay while serving his second term – and his
partner Marlon Reis are raising son Caspian Julius and daughter Cora
Barucha, which made Polis the first openly gay parent in Congress.
Prior to entering politics, Polis was a
successful businessman, making millions from Internet companies
American Information Systems (AIS), an Internet access provider,
ProFlowers.com, an online florist, and BlueMountain.com, a free
electronic greeting card website. Polis is also known for his
philanthropic giving.