Democrat Kate Brown will make history on Wednesday when she becomes the first openly bisexual governor in the United States. when she takes the office in Oregon.
An out LGBT governor has never been elected to office, according to the Huffington Post. New Jersey did have an openly gay governor briefly after Gov. Jim McGreevy (D.) came out in 2004. He resigned after he admitted to having an affair with a man in his administration.
Brown, Oregon's Secretary of State, will take over for John Kitzhaber on Wednesday after he announced his resignation Friday amid a corruption scandal involving his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes. Brown was the nation's first openly bisexual officeholder. She served in Oregon state legislature before being elected to the secretary of state position in 2008. Brown has discussed her sexuality in past campaigns and is married to Dan Little.
Brown is the highest-ranking bisexual elected official in the U.S., the Washington Post reported. In 2013, Rep. Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) became the first bisexual member of Congress. There are approximately 525 openly LGBT public officials in office across all levels of government, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund said. Majority of them are Democrats and 20 are Republicans.
This is the second time in Brown's career that she will take office after a resignation. She succeeded Rep. Judy Bauman (D.) in 1991 in the State House after Bauman was appointed to an executive position. Brown served in the House until 1997, when she won a seat in the state Senate. In 2008, she became the first woman to serve as Senate majority leader and later in 2008 she was elected to secretary of state.
