As reported by NPR on November 9, 2016, Oregon is the first U.S. state to elect an openly LGBT governor, electing Kate Brown, former Oregon Secretary of State. Brown stepped in as governor in early 2015, following the resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber.
In November 2016, Brown received the official title of governor when she won the gubernatorial election. Brown was outed as bisexual in the 1980s and notes that “while it was not her choice to be out, she embraced her identity once it was public.”