Jared Polis
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Helen Chernikoff November 30, 2018
Gay, Millionaire, Jewish Governor-Elect Of Colorado Breaks The Mold
On November 6, Jared Polis, 43, was elected to become Colorado’s first Jewish governor, and the country’s first openly gay governor, when he beat his Republican opponent with 52.3% to Walker Stapleton’s 44%.
A Democrat, Polis came to the job from Congress, where he was one of the wealthiest members of the “People’s Chamber.” He sold an internet access provider he created while a student at Princeton for $23 million, and helped sell his family’s online greeting-card company for $780 million in 1999.
During the campaign, he touted his progressive agenda, including the co-founding of the House Cannabis Caucus, but he flouts Democratic party orthodoxy on fracking and charter schools, both of which he supports.
— Helen Chernikoff
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