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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.
The Republican Party of Oregon’s 11th annual Reagan dinner, slated for Nov. 1, includes a big-name keynote speaker this year: U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).
But the party faithful may have just as much or more interest in two of the other speakers: former Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley and onetime University of Oregon wrestler and MMA fighter Chael Sonnen, a West Linn native.
Dudley retired in 2003 after a 16-year NBA career that included two stints with the Blazers. In 2010, he won the GOP nomination for an open governor’s seat and ran a strong race against Democrat John Kitzhaber, losing by 1.5%, fewer than 25,000 votes.
Sonnen’s political career is less noteworthy. He briefly ran for an Oregon House seat in West Linn in 2010, but withdrew after legal problems that led to his pleading guilty to money laundering related to mortgage fraud (which does not disqualify him from running for office). Sonnen was still a leading MMA fighter at the time. He retired from fighting in 2019 and has since transitioned to a role as a commentator for ESPN and other outlets. His outspokenness has generated a substantial following—867,000 people on X.
Unlike in 2022, when the GOP primary attracted a long list of candidates for governor, the Republican field in 2026 so far solely consists of Danielle Bethell, a Marion County commissioner. State Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) commissioned a poll earlier this year (the results of which remain private), but she remains mum on her plans.
Not long after losing to Kitzhaber, Dudley left Oregon for Southern California, where he’d attended high school. But he kept property in Oregon and has been living—and voting—in Oregon since 2020, which means he is eligible to run next year, should he accede to the wishes of some GOP funders. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Over the past year, Sonnen has openly mused on social media and in appearances on Fox News about running for governor. “I’m going to be governor of Oregon a lot sooner than a lot of people in Oregon think,” Sonnen told Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld last November. In a brief message, Sonnen confirmed he’ll speak Nov. 1 but did not comment on whether he’s going to run.
Neither former candidate has yet formed an active political action committee. The two ex-athletes will get a chance to pitch themselves to a large gathering of Oregon Republicans on Nov. 1.
Dan Mason, a GOP national committeeman and, recently, a two-term member of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, organized the first Reagan dinner 11 years ago as a local event. It has since grown to a statewide gathering that Mason says drew about 430 people last year.
Mason says there’s buzz about Mullin, the fiery junior senator from Oklahoma—but also a lot of interest in seeing prospective gubernatorial candidates to challenge the likely Democratic nominee, Gov. Tina Kotek.
Mason invited Dudley and Sonnen to speak for that reason. “I knew people were asking them to consider running for governor,” he says.
One rule at the dinner, to be held Saturday, Nov. 1, at 6 pm at Northwest Events & Environments in Hillsboro: No previously announced candidates for governor may speak.
But that rule doesn’t apply to anything a speaker might say Nov. 1. “We’ve never had a candidate for governor who announced at the Reagan dinner,” Mason says.
“But I suspect there may be a surprise announcement this year,” he adds, declining to comment further.
