Former Candidate for Governor Nick Kristof Will Return to His New York Times Column

Kristof to stay in Oregon as he reclaims his previous job.

Kristof Ends Campaign To Become Oregon Governor Nicholas Kristof, former New York Times reporter and columnist, and two-time Pulitzer prize winner, next to his wife Sheryl WuDunn, announces on February 17, 2022, in Portland, Oregon, the end of his bid for the governorship of Oregon, after his residency status was denied today by the Oregon Supreme Court. © John Rudoff 2022 (John Rudoff/Photo Credit: ©John Rudoff 2022)
By Rachel Monahan

Former New York Times columnist Nick Kristof got his old job back.

Kristof quit the Times last October after 37 years to seek the Democratic nomination for Oregon governor. He failed to make the ballot after he didn’t meet Oregon’s residency requirement of three years—he had voted in New York in November 2020.

On Aug. 1, the Times announced his return to writing columns. He’ll restart in the fall after he finishes a book. It’s a “journalist memoir,” according to Kristof’s description on Substack.

Asked by WW whether he’ll continue to live in Oregon, Kristof says he will.

“The plan is to continue to base myself on the farm here in Yamhill, but spend a week every month or two in New York,” he tells WW.

“I’ve no plans to ever run for office again,” he adds.

After the Oregon Supreme Court in February affirmed Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s determination he didn’t qualify for the ballot, it was unclear what Kristof would do with his unexpected free time.

“One of the advantages of losing one’s job very publicly is that you get a lot of job offers,” Kristof told New York magazine in April. “Running a foundation, running a news organization, running a couple of universities. But I like journalism, and I think it’s hard to beat the journalistic toolbox for making a better world.”

Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, shared a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on Tiananmen Square. He won a second Pulitzer for columns about famine in Darfur in 2006.

Among the other inquiries he received before opting for a return to journalism: an inquiry from the Portland mayor’s office.

“Some folks from Portland reached out, but it wasn’t clear exactly how I could be useful,” he tells WW. “I had also agreed to write the book that I’m now working on, so there was never serious or detailed discussion.”

The mayor’s office declined to comment on the specifics of the job offer.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Nick Kristof and wish him well in his endeavors with The New York Times,” says Mayor Ted Wheeler in a statement.






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