Nike co-founder Phil Knight is backing a second candidate in Oregon’s gubernatorial race after donating several million dollars to independent candidate Betsy Johnson.
Knight made a $1 million contribution to Republican Christine Drazan last week, while his last campaign donation in early September was $3.75 million to Johnson. Since then, Drazan and former state Rep. Tina Kotek, the Democratic nominee, have been neck and neck in the polls, while Johnson lags in third place.
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Drazan is nearly 2 points ahead of Kotek, according to the polling average from FiveThirtyEight. Still within the margin of error, the race is considered a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report, which changed the rating in September from “leans Democrat.” National Democratic organizations have stepped up to fund Kotek’s campaign.
Knight, an Oregon native, is the 27th richest person in the world and worth an estimated $35.2 billion. In 2018, he backed Oregon’s Republican gubernatorial hopeful Knute Buehler, who lost to incumbent Gov. Kate Brown. In 2009, he spent heavily to defeat ballot measures that would have increased taxes on some corporations and high-earning individuals.
There hasn’t been a Republican governor of Oregon since 1987, and this pickup opportunity for the GOP comes amid Brown’s status as one of the least popular governors in the country. Additionally, Johnson is polling around 19.5%, siphoning votes away from Kotek and Drazan.
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Drazan is a centrist Republican who was the minority leader of the Oregon House Republicans opposite Kotek, who was the House speaker at the time.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Drazan’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
