A Republican running for governor in Missouri claims he was gay for five years in the 1980s before a religious experience made him heterosexual.

State Sen. Bob Dixon issued a statement on Monday claiming his “confusion” about his sexuality stemmed from being molested as a child.

“I have put the childhood abuse, and the teenage confusion behind me,” said Dixon (R-Springfield), who is the son of former Republican state Rep. Jean Dixon. “What others intended for harm has resulted in untold good. I have overcome, and will not allow evil to win.”

The younger Dixon, who has a wife and three children, added that he has "consistently worked to treat all people with respect, understanding, and compassion, and to bring people together, not divide them.”

But he also touted his "faith in God" and support for "traditional marriage," and says he’s unsure if he'd support a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

“I think it’s a sad day when we have to have laws to tell us to treat people with respect,” he told reporters.

Back in 1991—shortly after his "conversion"—a then-22-year-old Bob Dixon addressed the Springfield City Council, opposing a hate-crimes ordinance.

The following year his politician mother told the Springfield News-Leader that her son’s homosexuality caused her great distress, and led her to protest a production of The Normal Heart at Missouri State University in 1989. (It went on, regardless.)

“I wasn’t just some hard-nosed so-called Christian out here ranting and raving,” said Jean Dixon, who also made a name for herself in the 1990s pushing for warning labels on records. “It had been a heartache I had to deal with, and it was a tough one.”

She added that Bob’s guilt over his sexuality almost caused him to commit suicide in 1988, when he considered driving his car off the road.

Bob Dixon is one of six candidates who has declared their candidacy for Missouri governor.