In the quirky college town, Kotek was “free” to be herself, and she came out as a lesbian.
Kotek moved to the Beaver State in 1987 and graduated the University of Oregon with a religious studies degree. The daughter of a middle-class family whose parents are first-generation Americans after her grandparents immigrated from Eastern Europe, Kotek was raised in York, Pennsylvania, the seat of a conservative county two hours west of Philadelphia. Kotek’s path to political prominence in Oregon was far less direct than taking Interstate 5 from Portland to the Statehouse in Salem. “What I think voters really want is someone who can see a problem, bring people together and solve it,” Kotek recently told The Associated Press. But supporters, including a third of Oregon’s Legislature, argue her determination and record of “getting things done” - at times, seemingly by all means necessary - make her the candidate to improve the entire state.
Kotek’s critics say she’s hyper partisan, with a progressive agenda that will mainly benefit Democrats and whose broken deals have left her with many foes. But with many Oregonians upset by some of the nation’s strictest and longest-lasting COVID-19 restrictions, the homeless crisis, lack of affordable housing, record homicide numbers in Portland, school closures, racial injustice protests that garnered national headlines, and months of delayed unemployment and rental assistance checks, the former lawmaker faces the challenge of convincing people that she can better the state while dodging blame for where it is today. In most election years, Kotek’s leadership experience, accomplishments, and political allies might guarantee her a win. During the last election cycle, progressives in some of the nation’s most liberal cities, including Seattle and New York, stumbled as frustrated voters opted for more moderate-minded candidates.
test of which wing of the Democratic party is ascendant - progressives or moderates. While the May 17 primary will determine whether Kotek will be the Democrats’ standard-bearer for governor, it’s also another U.S.