Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat and father of two, will also be the state's first Jewish governor.

David Zalubowski / AP

Jared Polis is making history — again. Ten years after he became the first openly gay man to win a congressional seat, the five-term Colorado congressman is now the country’s first openly gay man to be elected governor. The 43-year-old Democrat, who is also now Colorado's first Jewish governor, kept a consistent lead over his Republican opponent, Colorado State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, before clinching the win Tuesday night in what became the most expensive race in the state’s history. A progressive tech entrepreneur from Boulder, Polis was first elected to Congress in 2008. At the time, his longtime partner Marlon Reis hung back on the campaign trail and did not appear often in public until the victory party, where they memorably hugged on stage. “It was kind of zero to 60,” Reis told the Washington Post, explaining his choice to stay out of the spotlight because they “didn’t know if it would somehow negatively affect Jared’s chances of getting elected.” This time, though, the couple weaved their children and family life into ads and social media posts, embracing the happy family narrative that is so often used by straight candidates. During Denver's Pride Parade this year, Polis filled his social media with photos of himself and Reis, as well as other LGBT couples, captioning them with messages like "Love is love" and "We are a party that looks like America, today and tomorrow," while also acknowledging how difficult it is to be openly queer in many parts of the country.

Daniel Ramos, the executive director for One Colorado, the state's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, remembers growing up in a rural, conservative town and not meeting a same-sex couple that was raising children until he volunteered for a congressional campaign in 2010. "For [Polis] to send a message that families, no matter how they look, are just as much a part of this as anyone else's and his bold vision for Colorado, which is what we should be focusing on, is why we elected him as our next governor," Ramos told BuzzFeed News. Ramos also pointed out that there is a "lot at stake in this election" for LGBT rights, which have been a flashpoint for debates over religious liberties and same-sex marriage, in Colorado and nationwide. In June, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Christian, conservative baker who had refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple because of his personal religious beliefs. A few months earlier, a Republican-controlled Colorado Senate again thwarted the Democratic House's attempt to ban conversion therapy for minors. "We have had an anti-LGBT majority in the legislature and we have had bills blocked that would make it easier for transgender people to update their birth certificate and prohibit mental health providers from trying to change and influence a young person's sexual orientation or gender identity," Ramos said. "Plus the national sentiment and tone toward LGBT people, women, and immigrants right now. We want to push back on those sentiments coming out of DC."