For the first time in U.S. history, an openly gay candidate has won a race for governor.

Democrat Jared Polis beat his Republican challenger, Walker Stapleton to become Colorado's next governor.

They were running to replace Democratic Gov.

John Hickenlooper, who reached the state's term limit.  Polis has represented northern Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2009.

He ran a  progressive campaign , supporting issues like single-payer health care and moving toward 100 percent renewable energy.  While Polis is the first openly gay person to be elected governor, he's not the first LGBTQ governor.

Oregon Gov.

Kate Brown is bisexual, and she was  open about her sexuality  during her campaign.