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Phil Knight is spending like a sailor this month, giving $1 million to a political action committee created to elect Republicans to the Oregon Legislature and another $750,000 to former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, who is running for governor as an unaffiliated candidate. Both contributions were first disclosed this week on the state’s campaign finance website.
The April 25 donation to Johnson brings Knight’s tab with her campaign to $1.75 million, with more than six months remaining until the general election. The donation, first reported by independent journalism website The Portland Record, brings Johnson’s fundraising total to more than $7 million—a quarter of it from Knight, the Nike co-founder and Oregon’s richest person.
“Phil Knight is a great Oregonian who, like Betsy, is deeply concerned about the direction of the state he loves,” said Jennifer Sitton, a Johnson campaign spokesperson. “We’d suggest that it’s much bigger news that he gave $75 million to Stanford this week to help cure neurodegenerative diseases than whatever he gives to help Betsy Johnson.”
Johnson is seeking to capitalize on intense voter dissatisfaction to become the first woman in U.S. history to win a governorship without party backing. Her candidacy has drawn fierce opposition from both parties, even as they finish their own primary races: This week, Democrats began running attack ads criticizing Johnson’s record on the environment and gun control.
The other recipient of Knight’s largesse is Bring Balance to Salem PAC, which WW has previously reported was founded to break the Democratic Party’s supermajority in the Legislature.
That’s in keeping with the trend of Knight’s recent donations: While he has given to both political parties, in recent years his biggest gifts have been to Republicans, including $2.5 million to Knute Buehler in 2018.
Knight’s total gifts in this cycle—$2.75 million—have already exceeded those in 2018, a hint at the opportunity Knight sees in the mood of the electorate.