Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay governor in the United States, is also a big fan of video games. However, his love for gaming did not play a role in his election victory over republican Walker Stapleton. In fact, Polis’ video game interests have caused some controversies in the past.
In 2015, Polis collaborated with Riot Games to create a video called “Community Congressman,” in which he discussed his political career as well as his love for League of Legends. The video also touched on his work to stop the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). However, this video caused some issues with the House Ethics Committee as it was seen as potentially promoting Riot Games, a private business. The matter was eventually dropped after a four-month investigation.
It is worth noting that Polis’ attachment to League champions Maokai and Anivia was not considered a problem by the investigators. The report concluded that he did not violate House Rules regarding official endorsement of a commercial entity or use official resources for a commercial purpose.
Interestingly, Polis is not the only politician who enjoys playing League of Legends. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman to be elected to Congress, also plays the game in her off-time. She recently tweeted that she would be dusting off her League account, which she had neglected during her campaign. Ocasio-Cortez mentioned that she plays champions like Morgana, Lux, and Miss Fortune, and is working on improving her skills with Anivia.