By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau
Nike co-founder Phil Knight threw his wallet into the 2022 political ring this week, giving $250,000 to Betsy Johnson’s campaign for governor.
Knight’s contribution made the biggest splash into a growing pool of campaign cash for 2022 campaigns for governor. Fundraising for other campaigns falls under Oregon’s open-ended financing laws that allow contributions of any size to candidates as long as they are reported to the Secretary of State.
The numbers so far are just a drop in a possible flood of cash. The 2018 race won by Gov. Kate Brown over Republican Knute Buehler, the former state representative from Bend, generated almost $40 million in contributions.
Knight contributed $2.5 million directly to Buehler’s campaign. When Buehler left the Republican party and announced his endorsement of Johnson on Dec. 15, speculation grew whether Knight’s financial support would follow.
Christine Drazan, the former House Republican leader from Canby who gave up her seat to run for governor, said fundraising is a constantly moving target depending on what opponents are receiving and the ability of some to self-finance their efforts. During a Wednesday campaign stop in Madras, Drazan said she had no set goal beyond the $1 million that she has raised so far.
“Whatever it takes, we will raise it,” she said.
Fueling the raising and spending machines are the absence of an incumbent on the ballot for the first time since 2010. Brown cannot run against because of term limits.
As of this week, the governor’s race has attracted 31 candidates: 15 Republicans, 13 Democrats, two non-affiliated and one Independent.
That’s not counting Democrat Nicholas Kristof, the ex-New York Times columnist who was knocked off the ballot when Secretary of State Shemia Fagan determined he didn’t meet the residency requirement to run. While Kristof’s status is in limbo, his fundraising has continued non-stop. He’s raised just over $198,000 since Jan. 1.
Adding to the final money-spending binge is the likelihood of a three-way race in November between the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries in May, and Johnson, who can wait to see who survives the crowded field.
Under Oregon campaign law, she won’t be on the ballot in the May primary. She must collect nearly 25,000 valid signatures of Oregon voters to submit to the secretary of state by the end of August. If the signatures are verified, she would go on the November general election ballot as an unaffiliated candidate.
Johnson leads the pack with just under $3.58 million in the bank. Along with Knight’s contribution, she also reported receiving $100,000 on Wednesday from Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle.
In the Democratic primary field, former House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, has reported $908,202 in the bank. Labor union political action committees were the biggest givers so far in 2022, with $50,000 from the PAC of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and $15,000 from the union-backed Oregonians to Maintain Community Standards, which lists its goal as ensuring a living wage for Oregon workers.
Kotek also received $10,000 from the Portland operation of international digital marketing agency Moda Partners, whose main headquarters is in Nelson, British Columbia. Contributions of $5,000 each came from Rick Dillon and Ron Odermott, Washington state residents who are executives with the Avemere Family of Companies, a Wilsonville-based operator of skilled nursing and senior living facilities.
Treasurer Tobias Read has $478,178. Oregon does not require candidates to file fundraising and spending reports until 30 days after transactions. Read’s 2022 information is limited to the first few days of the year. His largest recent contribution was $10,000 from New York City investor Peter Joseph on Dec. 31 of last year.
Nick Kristof has just under $1.88 million in the bank and reported recent major contributions of $10,000 from Rice University lecturer Anne Chao and $10,000 from Seattle-based Women in Sustainable Enterprise.
On the Republican side, Drazan has $851,949 in the bank and has recent large contributions of $150,000 from Team Management Co. in Keizer, $30,000 from CPM Development Corp. in Spokane, and $25,000 for Thomas Tuttle of San Francisco, a principal with Veritas Managed Solutions.
Drazan’s quick increase in funds was also fueled by a series of contributions from construction and excavating companies. She received $50,000 from K&E Excavating of Salem, and $25,000 each from Emery & Sons Construction Group in Salem, Hamilton Construction in Springfield, Siegmund Excavation & Construction in Stayton and Murphy Plywood in Eugene. Scott Williams, a general contractor with Hamilton Construction in Eugene also contributed $25,000.
Bud Pierce, the Salem oncologist who was the Republican’s nominee in the 2016 special election for governor won by Brown, reports $177,182 in the bank. Much of his campaign funds have come from his own pocket.
Stan Pulliam of Sandy, who has won the Oregon Catalyst website straw poll of Republican voters asking who they support for governor, has $328,991 in the bank. He received $145,000 on Jan. 22 from the Heart of Main Street Political Action Committee, a conservative-oriented fund based in Independence.
- The Oregon Capital Bureau in Salem is staffed by reporters from EO Media and Pamplin Media Group and provides state government and political news to their newspapers and media around Oregon, including YachatsNews.com