Nicholas Kristof, a former New York Times columnist, launched a Democratic campaign for governor of Oregon on Wednesday.
Kristof, who grew up in Oregon, spent 37 years as a journalist at the New York Times, first as a foreign correspondent and then as an opinion columnist. He left the New York Times several months ago as he started to prepare for a gubernatorial bid.
“It broke my heart when I returned from crises abroad only to find crises here at home,” Kristof said in his campaign announcement video.
The 2022 Oregon gubernatorial election will be an open race, as Gov. Kate Brown is term-limited. Kristof joins a crowded field of candidates for the Democratic nomination, including state House Speaker Tina Kotek and State Treasurer Tobias Read.
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Kristof featured a woman in his announcement video named Mary, one of his friends in grade school, who in the decades since experienced homelessness for seven years despite being hardworking and honest.
“Let’s make Oregon a place that rewards American values like hard work and initiative, but that also understands that being down on your luck should never be a death sentence,” he said in his launch video.
Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and seven-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
His reporting on the website Pornhub and videos of the site depicting assault and minors led to the site announcing major changes meant to curb abuse.
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During Black Lives Matter and anti-police riots in 2020 that rocked Portland for months, Kristof wrote columns expressing skepticism that the majority of demonstrators were anarchists and criticized right-wing “antifa hysteria.”
He also endorsed the “Defund the Police” idea — “not to eliminate every police officer but to re-imagine ways to make us safe that don’t necessarily involve traditional law enforcement.”
