Polis wins Colo. congressional primary Gay.com, CA

Posted on August 14, 2008
Filed Under Gay News Blog

Internet entrepreneur Jared Polis’ victory in Tuesday’s Colorado Democratic primary bodes to make him only the sixth openly gay member of Congress.

Polis, a former member of the state Board of Education, took 42 percent of the vote in a heated three-way race, according to the Denver Post. His chief opponent, former state Senate president Joan Fitz-Gerald, accused him of trying to buy the election after he poured $5.3 million of his own money into his campaign.

Polis made his fortune — $96.5 million last year, said the Post — founding and selling e-commerce sites like Proflowers.com. He also funded several charter schools.

As the Democratic nominee in his massively Democratic district of Boulder, he faces only token opposition in November. He’d join Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Barney Frank, D-Mass., as the only out gays now in the House of Representatives.Polis wins Colo. congressional primary

Gay.com, CA