Oh Hell Yeah Colorado Just Elected America's First Openly Gay Governor 

Representative Jared Polis, an openly gay Congressman from Colorado, is projected to win the state’s gubernatorial election tonight, becoming the first openly gay person to be elected governor of a state and defeating Republican Walker Stapleton.

ABC called the race for Polis at around 9:45 ET on Tuesday night.

Polis isn’t the first LGBTQ person to serve as governor; New Jersey’s Jim McGreevey came out in 2004 while in office and Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown (elected in 2016) openly identifies as bisexual. Polis has represented Colorado Second Congressional District since 2009, and supported consistently progressive policy positions, including Medicare for All and gun control, throughout his campaign and five terms in Congress.

The Denver Post has also called the election for Polis, noting that Polis significantly out-raised and outspent Stapleton throughout the race, and has moved the general tone of Colorado’s electorate to the left.