Meet California's first openly gay ernor — for a few hours, anyway

COLORADO'S JARED POLIS, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN ELECTED ERNOR, ADDRS 'HORRIFIC' SHOOTG AT AN LGBTQ CLUB
WHAT 'S LIKE BEG AMERI'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ERNOR
JARED POLIS MAK HISTORY AS AMERI'S FIRST ELECTED OPENLY GAY MALE GOVERNOR
MRA HEALEY BE FIRST GAY WOMAN ELECTED MASSACHETTS ERNOR
LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
GAY GOVERNORS: MRA HEALEY, TA KOTEK, JARED POLIS W
POLIS, 1ST OPENLY GAY ERNOR ELECTED, MARRI COLORADO
MEET CALIFORNIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ERNOR — FOR A FEW HOURS, ANYWAY

COLORADO'S JARED POLIS, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN ELECTED ERNOR, ADDRS 'HORRIFIC' SHOOTG AT AN LGBTQ CLUB

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected ernor the Uned Stat, on Sunday cried Saturday's “horrific” adly shootg at a Colorado Sprgs LGBTQ nightclub. * openly gay govenor *

Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected ernor the Uned Stat, on Sunday cried Saturday's “horrific” adly shootg at a Colorado Sprgs LGBTQ nightclub.

He first won elected office 2008 and beme, his words, “the first openly gay parent to w a seat Congrs. In addn to beg Colorado's first openly gay ernor, he is also the state's first Jewish ConcepcnSummer Concepcn is a polics reporter for NBC News. The breakout star of the ntt to bee the Democratic party’s nomee the 2020 race for the Whe Hoe is Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the first openly gay elected official to n for print.

”In 1978, jt 26% of Amerins said they would vote for a gay or lbian ndidate, acrdg to pollster Gallup. There is livg proof of this warp speed transformatn Colorado, which ls than three s has gone om notoriety as a homophobic “hate state” to electg Ameri’s first openly gay ernor. “This is a much higher-profile posn, and of urse nng as an openly gay uple, that gave an even higher profile, ” says Reis.

WHAT 'S LIKE BEG AMERI'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ERNOR

Only 26% of Amerins said they would vote for a gay or lbian ndidate 40 years ago. But as Colorado’s Jared Polis has disvered, is now a non-issue for many voters<br> * openly gay govenor *

‘This is a much higher-profile posn, and of urse nng as an openly gay uple, that gave an even higher profile. “When I was growg up there were people on televisn that reprented stereotyp of what people associated beg gay wh and was tertg, you viewed through a tunnel visn, ” he rells, addg that when he was high school, he felt “GSAs – gay straight allianc – didn’t exist; at least at my school they weren’t prent”.

She said: ‘When I signed up to have a gay bt iend I thought that you would be takg me out shoppg, ’ and I said: ‘I n’t stand shoppg.

”But would an openly gay ndidate have been nceivable when you were growg up here? I went out and bought every book on homosexualy. All I knew was homosexuals were creepy moltg typ.

JARED POLIS MAK HISTORY AS AMERI'S FIRST ELECTED OPENLY GAY MALE GOVERNOR

Democratic Atty. Gen. Mra Healey has been elected ernor of Massachetts, makg history as the state’s first woman and first openly gay ndidate elected to the office. * openly gay govenor *

It was set up by Tim Gill, a wealthy software veloper who, along wh Polis, Pat Stryker and Rutt Bridg – Colorado’s “gang of four” – spent many lns of dollars on gay rights and other liberal , helpg turn Colorado’s general assembly om Republin to Democratic 2004.

”Polis’s sexualy was important to gay rights activists but no one else, Caldara add.

Nobody I know on the right is upset bee he’s gay; we’re upset bee he’s stroyg the state of Colorado and turng to California.

MRA HEALEY BE FIRST GAY WOMAN ELECTED MASSACHETTS ERNOR

* openly gay govenor *

”Back at the vio rerdg, an terviewer asks him directly: “How do feel to be the first openly gay man elected ernor the Uned Stat?

Eric Marc, creator and host of the Makg Gay History podst, says: “It’s a non-story but I also feel very exced ’s a non-story. Is Ameri ready for a gay print? Ta Kotek, the projected wner of the Oregon ernor's race, will be only the send woman elected to lead her, who was the first openly gay attorney general elected the untry 2014, was prevly a civil rights lawyer.

Colorado Congrsman Jared Polis ma history Tuday night by beg the first openly gay man to be elected ernor of a U. ” Mary Parker, print and CEO of the Victory Fund, a natnwi anizatn that supports LGBTQ ndidat, told the Denver Post of Polis’ victory: “The fact that the state of Colorado, 25 years, has gone om beg dubbed the ‘Hate State’ to a place that n elect someone who is not jt openly gay, but publicly gay, that’s historic.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

On the East Coast, Wt Coast and heartland stat between them, LGBT ndidat sred a raft of notable midterm electn victori — wng two ernorships, at least ne seats Congrs, and their first-ever legislative seats Indiana, Kansas and Nebraska. The head of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which recs and assists LGBT ndidat, said many of the wners Tuday's electns were motivated by ncerns over the Tmp admistratn's rollback of protectns for transgenr people. "We've worked hard to achieve the rights we have today," said the fund's CEO, former Hoton Mayor Annise Parker. "But we realize we're still a vulnerable posn many plac." From Parker's perspective, the highlights were many. In Colorado, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis beme the first openly gay man elected as a ernor of any state. In Wisns, Tammy Baldw — who 2012 beme the first openly gay person to w a U.S. Senate seat — easily won re-electn spe beg targeted by outsi nservative groups that spent lns attackg her. In rac for the U.S. hoe, a rerd eight LGBT ndidat won seats for the Democrats. Four cumbents— Mark Takano of California, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, David Cicille of Rho Island and Mark Pon of Wisns — will be joed January by newers Katie Hill of California, Sharice Davids of Kansas, Angie Craig of Mnota and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire. For two other LGBT ndidat, their rac were too close to ll — U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sema's bid for a U.S. Senate seat Arizona and Ga Ortiz Jon' race for a U.S. Hoe seat Texas. Hill, Davids and Craig were among a batch of Democratic wners who flipped ntrol of GOP-held Hoe seats, overg ial skepticism that LGBT ndidat were not bt-sued for that challenge. "We saw LGBTQ ndidat talk openly about their liv to a gree unseen past electns — and ronated wh voters," Parker said. In Mnota, Craig featured her wife and their sons TV ads en route to wng a rematch agast GOP Rep. Jason Lewis the Tw Ci' suburban 2nd District. "What I say is my wife and I have four sons, jt like any other polician would," Craig said durg the mpaign. "It'd be ol to be the first openly gay member of Congrs om Mnota, but that's not why I'm nng." In Kansas' 3rd District, near Kansas Cy, Davids unseated four-term GOP cumbent Kev Yor. Beg lbian was only one aspect of an eye-tchg bgraphy — she's also Native Amerin, a lawyer, a former Whe Hoe fellow, and a past petor mixed martial arts. "From the begng, this mpaign has been built on brgg new lears to the table, and new voic to the table," she said her victory speech. In New Hampshire, Pappas did not strs his LGBT stat durg the mpaign, but reacted wh passn durg a bate when his GOP rival, Eddie Edwards, qutned why Pappas had been photographed wearg a "Rist" T-shirt. "The photo you are referrg to is a rabow shirt I wore at a gay pri event," Pappas said. "I am proud of who I am and I am proud to stand up agast hate, bigotry and tolerance." In Colorado, which was bet by gay-rights ntroversi the past, Polis' succsful mpaign for ernor was strikg that his LGBT stat never beme a mpaign issue. "We went om a state where our elected officials stggled to provi even basic rights to same-sex upl to a state where a gay man ran for ernor and his sexual orientatn wasn't discsed as a polil liabily," The Denver Post wrote an edorial. Kayla DeShon, an pennt voter om the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, said she voted for Polis bee of his stance on health re. "I did not know he is gay. I found out afterward — was an add bon," said DeShon, 29. "And I do thk that don't matter." Polis will jo Oregon's Kate Brown as the only LGBT ernors. Brown, who intifi as bisexual, narrowly won re-electn over Republin Knute Buehler. In state legislative rac, the Victory Fund projects that about 130 LGBT ndidat will w seats — all but two of them Democrats. That would be up om 121 LGBT legislators headg to the electn, acrdg to the fund. Wng a state Senate seat Utah was Derek Kchen, a cy uncilor Salt Lake Cy who rose to promence when his lawsu overturned Utah's ban on gay marriage several years ago. Voters Omaha elected an openly bisexual ndidate, Megan Hunt, to the Nebraska Senate. In New Hampshire, two transgenr women, Gerri Cannon and Lisa Bunker, won seats the state Hoe of Reprentativ. A third transgenr woman, Brianna Tone, was locked a too-close-to-ll race for the Colorado Hoe. Unofficial near-plete returns showed Tone wh a 12-vote lead after more than 47,000 vot were st. Among LGBT victors elsewhere was Dana Nsel, elected as Michigan's attorney general. Nsel ma headl as -unsel the historic lawsu that led to same-sex marriage Michigan. She said the outgog GOP attorney general, Bill Schuette, "ma a mockery of state ernment" by brgg social scientists to urt to nigrate the parentg skills of same-sex upl. "There are LGBTQ people clamorg for reprentatn and tired of the office of attorney general g them as a punchg bag," Nsel said durg the mpaign. In Massachetts, voters soundly feated an attempted repeal of a 2016 state law extendg nondiscrimatn protectns to transgenr people the e of rtrooms and other public acmodatns. The oute was hailed by Parker, who was mayor of Hoton 2015 when a trans-clive civil-rights ordance was repealed a referendum. Opponents of the ordance played upon public fears wh the slogan, "No Men Women's Bathrooms." Parker said Massachetts voters, havg lived wh the state law for two years, didn't buy such rhetoric. "They realized was pletely ane fear," she said. ___ Associated Prs wrer Jam Anrson Denver ntributed to this report. __ Follow David Crary at * openly gay govenor *

Mra Healey has been elected ernor of Massachetts, makg history as the state’s first woman and first openly gay ndidate elected to the feated Republin Geoff Diehl, a former state reprentative who had the endorsement of former Print Tmp.

Healey and Democrat Ta Kotek, a ndidate for ernor Oregon, each began the day wh a chance to bee the first openly lbian person elected ernor of a — elected eight years ago as the natn’s first openly gay attorney general — snapped what’s bee known Massachetts as the “curse of the attorney general.

GAY GOVERNORS: MRA HEALEY, TA KOTEK, JARED POLIS W

The number of openly gay ernors the Uned Stat went om one to three followg Tuday's midterm electns * openly gay govenor *

Latvia swore the first openly gay print of a Baltic natn Rkēvičs, who sce 2011 was the untry’s foreign mister, was elected by Parliament May after Print Egils Levs did not seek re-electn.

POLIS, 1ST OPENLY GAY ERNOR ELECTED, MARRI COLORADO

Colorado's Jared Polis, who beme the first openly gay man the Uned Stat to be elected ernor 2018, has married his longtime partner and first gentleman Marlon Reis, a wrer and animal welfare advote. Polis, 46, and Reis, 40, were married a tradnal Jewish ceremony attend by fay and iends Boulr on Wednday, the ernor's office said. Rabbi Tirzah Firtone officiated. * openly gay govenor *

”Rkēvičs “proudly” announced he is gay on Twter November 2014, though the untry, a former Soviet republic, is not pecially LGBTQ-clive. ” He said he knew there would be “mega hysteria, ” but he end wh the hashtag “#Proudtobegay. ”He is one of jt a few openly gay heads of state the world.

She is thought to be the first openly gay prime mister the was an active unnist her nearly 10 years workg as a flight attendant, acrdg to the Council of Women World Lears, a work of female heads of state. After the accatn, he said, he was chased down the street by reporters, one of whom yelled, “Yet they say you’re a homosexual!

”Xavier Bettel Prime Mister of Luxembourg (2013-prent)Luxembourg Prime Mister Xavier Bettel at a news nference Belgra, Serbia, on July Vojovic / APBettel was first elected prime mister of Luxembourg 2013, and 2018 he beme the first openly gay prime mister the world to be re-elected for a send marriage beme legal Luxembourg 2015, and the same year Bettel beme the first servg European Unn lear to marry a same-sex partner, the BBC recently cricized a Hungarian law that bans school tnal materials and TV shows for people unr 18 that are emed to promote LGBTQ ntent, Rters reported. “To be natnally blamed, to be nsired as not normal, to be nsired as a danger for young people — ’s not realizg that beg gay is not a choice, ” Bettel said, acrdg to Rters.