Aug 15, 2008  |  By: LISA KEEN and JOSHUA LYNSEN | COMMENTS     

A gay businessman is poised to become the nation’s third openly gay member of Congress after winning an expensive Democratic primary this week in Colorado.

Jared Polis, 33, defeated the state’s gay-friendly Senate president to win a three-way race Tuesday for the Democratic nomination in the heavily Democratic Boulder area. He is now well positioned to win the November general election.

In his victory speech, Polis introduced his partner and expressed relief that voters were not troubled by his sexual orientation.

“I always worried that that would get in the way [of] giving back and contributing to our society,” he was quoted as saying in the Rocky Mountain News.

Several gay organizations lauded Polis’ victory, including the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which had backed his run.

“Jared’s election is a victory for democracy,” said Chuck Wolfe, the Victory Fund’s president. “Jared’s victory brings us one step closer to fulfilling America’s promise of truly representative government.”

U.S. Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) are Congress’ only openly gay members. Baldwin was the first openly gay, non-incumbent elected to Congress. Frank revealed he was gay after serving several terms in office.

“Jared’s victory last night is a historic step forward for our entire community,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Not only will he be the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a non-incumbent, but his leadership in Congress will reflect his dedication to the GLBT community on issues like hate crimes protections and a fully inclusive workplace protections bill.”

Polis could not immediately be reached Wednesday for comment.

Frequently described in the Colorado press as a self-made millionaire in Internet businesses, Polis made his name publicly as an education activist, who established a foundation to support educational efforts directed at students with low-income families. In 2000, he won a seat on the state’s board of education.

Polis is seeking to fill the seat being vacated by incumbent U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, a gay-friendly lawmaker who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Polis’ strongest competitor was state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, followed by conservationist Will Shafroth. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Polis won with 42 percent of the vote, topping Fitz-Gerald’s 38 percent and Shafroth’s 20 percent. Fitz-Gerald conceded the race shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District encompasses the heavily liberal city of Boulder and parts of Denver. It has been in Democratic hands since 1975. In 2006, Udall beat the Republican challenger 68 percent to 28 percent.

The race between Polis, Fitz-Gerald and Shafroth was reportedly one of the most expensive in the country. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Polis contributed more than $5 million of his own money toward his campaign — three times the money raised and spent by each of the other two candidates.

Boulder’s newspaper, the Daily Camera, said Polis relied on “a massive bankroll to fund his political ambitions.”

The Denver Business Journal reported that Polis, a native of Boulder, co-founded the online greeting card service bluemountainarts.com and launched an online florist service. He sold the greeting card service in 1999 for a reported $780 million.

Polis won his seat on the state’s board of education in 2000 and served there until 2006. He also established a foundation to support educational efforts directed at students from low-income families.

In campaigning for Congress, Polis pledged to support equal rights for gays, including marriage rights. He also rarely faced questions about his sexual orientation.

“Being gay is an interesting dynamic,” he told the Blade last year. “Like most gays and lesbians, there’s different degrees of being out. I’m out, there’s been articles about it in the paper, but most people haven’t read those articles. I will frequently get asked, ‘So are you married?’ There’s the continual process of coming out and deciding when to come out and how much to share really every day and that’s something straight candidates don’t face.”

Fitz-Gerald also was seen as a strong supporter of gays and had the backing of such well-known gay philanthropists as Tim Gill and Scott Coors. The Denver Post noted that in 2006, Fitz-Gerald placed a measure on the state ballot seeking to grant equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The measure failed.