Nike co-founder gives $500,000 in Oregon’s race for governor

PORTLAND (AP) — Nike co-founder Phil Knight this week contributed $500,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Knute Buehler, a Republican lawmaker from Central Oregon.

The 79-year-old billionaire made the donation on Monday, and it appeared in Oregon’s campaign finance database on Wednesday.

Knight is an Oregon native, and Nike headquarters are outside Portland. He has spent heavily in recent gubernatorial elections, donating $400,000 to Republican candidate Chris Dudley in 2010 and $250,000 to Democrat John Kitzhaber in 2014.

“I’m thrilled to have Phil Knight — one of Oregon’s most influential citizens and innovative business leaders — on our team,” Buehler, a Bend orthopedic surgeon, said in a statement. “Phil Knight looks beyond narrow political labels — and so do I.”

The donation comes very early in the campaign. The Republican primary is nine months away, with the winner advancing to a likely matchup with incumbent Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, in November 2018.

With Knight’s donation, Buehler now has raised slightly more than $700,000. Brown reports having $1.4 million in her campaign account.

Knight has donated to Buehler once before in a race against Brown, contributing $50,000 to his unsuccessful race for secretary of state in 2012.