Phil Knight, billionaire co-founder of Nike, sits at an event at the Nike campus in Beaverton on April 24, 2023.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
Persistent rumors that Oregon’s richest resident has already made a choice in this year’s governor’s race appear to be true. Phil Knight now has $1 million riding on Chris Dudley.
Dudley, a former Trail Blazers center and contender for the GOP nomination, reported the donation from Nike’s co-founder Wednesday afternoon. According to state records, Knight made the contribution on Tuesday, the last day candidates could file for the May primary. The donation was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The sizable gift – by far the largest made so far to a 2026 gubernatorial candidate – brings Dudley’s fundraising to $1.7 million since he announced his candidacy in January. That’s roughly on par with the total raised by state Sen. Christine Drazan, the 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee who is among the GOP front-runners this year.
Dudley and Drazan’s fundraising has far outpaced two other notable candidates in the Republican primary race, state Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, and Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell.
The latest donation by Knight continues the billionaire’s recent history of heavily funding Republicans’ war chests in a state where Democrats hold legislative majorities and every statewide elected position.
Last year, Knight contributed $3 million to a political committee that works to elect Republican lawmakers. And he’s been a regular feature of GOP gubernatorial campaigns. In 2018, he was a major funder of Knute Buehler’s attempt to unseat Gov. Kate Brown. And in 2022, Knight gave $3.75 million to independent candidate Betsy Johnson before switching his financial allegiance to Drazan.
He’s also given to Dudley in the past. In 2010, the former Trail Blazer came just 1.5% behind John Kitzhaber in the governor’s race, closer than any other Republican in recent decades. Knight, relatively restrained in his political giving at the time, kicked in $400,000.
