US About to Get First Bisexual Governor

Kate Brown to take over for John Kitzhaber in Oregon
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 13, 2015 4:45 PM CST
US About to Get First Bisexual Governor
Oregon Democratic Secretary of State Kate Brown celebrates at the podium after winning her race in 2012.   (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

When John Kitzhaber steps down as Oregon's governor on Wednesday, a little history will be made. He will be replaced by Secretary of State Kate Brown, who will become the nation's first openly bisexual governor, reports the Washington Post. Brown is married to Dan Little, but she began identifying herself as bisexual back in the 1990s, reports the Oregonian. "I believe it was during my early 30s that I figured out who, or what, I am," she once wrote, as noted by the Atlantic. "But it wasn’t until it was written in the Oregonian newspaper that I was bisexual that I had to face the inevitable and let those around me know."

Brown is a 54-year-old Democrat who was expected to run for governor eventually. She will assume office until a 2016 election to fill out the remainder of Kitzhaber's term. If she runs in that one, she will do so with the advantage of an incumbent, notes the Oregonian, and would presumably run again for her own full term in 2018. "I am ready, and my staff will be ready," Brown said in a statement before Kitzhaber announced that he was quitting amid questions about his fiancee's finances. (More Kate Brown stories.)

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