Nike co-founder Phil Knight changes course, donates $1 million to Republican governor candidate Christine Drazan

Christine Drazan

GOP candidate for Oregon governor Christine Drazan in Portland Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Oregon’s most well-known billionaire appears to have switched allegiance in the governor’s race.

After donating $3.75 million to unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson – including $2 million on Sept. 1 – Nike co-founder Phil Knight on Thursday contributed $1 million to Republican candidate Christine Drazan. His gift to Drazan was first reported by Willamette Week.

The donation comes as polls have consistently shown Johnson trailing far behind Drazan and Democrat Tina Kotek in the race for governor.

A poll in late September commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive showed Drazan and Kotek neck-and-neck with 32% and 31% support respectively, while Johnson registered only 18% support. The poll, conducted by DHM Research, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and 15% of voters remained undecided.

With Knight’s donation, Drazan has now raised about $13.9 million and spent nearly $10.5 million since January 2021, according to state records. Kotek has reported raising $14.9 million and spending $12.6 million in that time frame while Johnson has reported raising $16.5 million and spending $15.1 million.

Jamie Goldberg; jgoldberg@oregonian.com; 503-221-8228; @jamiebgoldberg

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