Oregon governor John Kitzhaber (D) has recently declared his resignation, making his Secretary of State Kate Brown (D) the next person in line to take his title. This is a big deal, as Brown's succession will make her the first openly bisexual governor in the U.S.

According to the Washington Post, Kitzhaber's resignation is a result of continuing questions about his fiancée's actions as a consultant. First lady Cylvia Hayes is accused of guiding state employees on the implementation of a new policy even as she was doing private consulting work for a group pushing the same policy. A criminal investigation has been launched by the state's attorney general.

Komo News reports that Brown is currently serving her second term after many years in the legislature, and lives in Portland with her husband and two stepchildren. She has been very open throughout her political career about being bisexual, and is arguably the highest-ranking bisexual elected official in America.

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) became the first bisexual member of Congress in 2013, and there are currently about 525 openly LGBT public officials in office at all levels of government. However, an open LGBT governor has never been elected before.

Reportedly, Brown wrote an essay titled "Out and Elected in the USA" after entering politics in 1991 as a member of Oregon's House of Representatives. The brief work discussed what it was like for her to come out as bisexual to her parents, her gay and straight friends, and her fellow lawmakers. She said, "Some days I feel like I have a foot in both worlds, yet never really belonging to either."

Her parents responded to her confession by saying, "It would be much easier for us if you were a lesbian." Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) states that this response is widespread. He said, "To the extent that they're out, they may well be more so the victims of scorn because they get it from both gay and straight people. Gays want them to make a choice, and straights consider them gay, so in many ways they face increased amounts of stigma and discrimination."

HRC official Ellen Khan stated, "Kate Brown is an incredible role model for bisexual youth, many of whom are grappling with the same issues that Brown dealt with when she came out in the '90s - including feelings of not being understood by family or by their gay peers."