Co-Founder of Nike Donates $1 Million to Republican Running for Governor in Oregon

Nike co-founder Phil Knight has donated $1 million to Christine Drazan, the Republican candidate running for Governor in Oregon.

Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican Governor since 1982, Vic Atiyeh. Drazan however seems to have a chance to break the streak of Democrats running the state.

The donation from Knight is surprising as it appears to be counter to Nike’s activism. He had previously donated $3.75 million to the Independent candidate, Betsy Johnson, in the Governor’s races who has since dropped out, and now he has put funds behind Drazan.

Nike gave Kapernick a platform and helped make him a lot of money when he decided to start kneeling in protest during the national anthem at games. The company also changed its slogan briefly as a virtue signal to “For once, Don’t Do It” after the widely publicized death of George Floyd.

It may be anybody is better than the Democrat, Tina Kotec, candidate to Knight. Oregon has seen a rapid decline in the quality of life in Portland the flagship city. Crime is on the rise in Portland and so are murders.

In an ad Drazan attacks both Knight and Johnson talking about how they also push Kate Brown the current Governor’s agenda.

“Tina Kotek and Betsy Johnson have been driving Kate Brown’s agenda for years. They’ve led Oregon down the wrong path. Tina and Betsy haven’t fixed anything. They’ve made things worse”

“We need a new direction. My roadmap for Oregon cleans up our streets, stops the tax increases, and makes life more affordable for Oregon families. The stakes couldn’t be higher, but together we can do this.”

Drazan and Kotec are polling in a dead heat. The Democrat policies that have run the state for decades may be the reason a Republican has a chance of leading the state after this midterm election.  

While there is no clear reason as to why Knight has donated to Drazan, this may be a signal that even those on high are sick of Democrat policies.