Meet the Candidates: Oregon's Kate Brown

The Victory Fund is working to elect dozens of LGBT candidates to higher office and we're featuring the stories of several of these men and women as the election nears.

Kate Brown made history in 2015 when she became the first openly bisexual governor in the nation.

Brown, a Democrat who had been secretary of state, became governor of Oregon following the resignation of John Kitzhaber, who stepped down after he and his environmental consultant fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, were accused of ethics violations. Now Brown has to run for election is to serve out the remaining two years of his term. Oregon's Corvallis Gazette-Times, in endorsing Brown, noted that she stepped into her new position with grace.

"We were impressed by the calm, collected manner in which Kate Brown took over as the governor of Oregon in the chaotic weeks after the resignation of John Kitzhaber; it would have been easy for the legislative session that had just gotten underway to roll off the rails, but Brown helped make sure that didn't happen," the paper wrote.

During her tenure, Brown signed a bill to raise the minimum wage in her state. Brown also signed a bill into law in May 2015 that banned the use of conversion therapy on minors . "There are many things that young people need, but breaking them down based on their sexual or gender identity is not one of them -- and in fact, it's inexcusable," Brown said during the signing ceremony.

But critics say "she's yet to squarely tackle the state's pension crisis or chart a clear path toward new transportation funding," reports The Oregonian, a Portland daily newspaper. A spokesman for the Brown campaign told the paper that Brown's priorities include "raising graduation rates, helping families economically, protecting the environment and easing traffic congestion."

In September, during a debate with her opponent, Republican William "Bud" Pierce, Brown revealed that she has been a victim of domestic violence. She provided few details about the experience, but a spokesman for her campaign said the perpetrator was not her husband, Dan Little. They have been married since 1997. Pierce came under fire for saying during the same debate, "A woman that has great education and training and a great job is not susceptible to this kind of abuse by men," a statement that drew boos. He later said he recognizes that women of any economic status can be abused, but he meant that poor women have fewer resources to get out of abusive relationships.

Brown's experience includes 17 years in the state legislature, and she was the first woman to serve as Oregon's Senate majority leader. Before running for elected office, Brown was a child advocate and a juvenile and family law attorney. She also taught at Portland State University, worked with the Juvenile Rights Project, and cofounded the Oregon Women's Health and Wellness Alliance, according to her campaign website.