Phil Knight Contributes $2 Million to PAC That Supports Republican Legislative Candidates

It’s unclear why the Nike co-founder is giving now. His check comes on the second day of a walkout by Republican senators but was written a month ago.

Phil Knight 2A104WJ Stanford, California, USA. 21st Sep, 2019. Nike co-founder Phil Knight is all smiles on the sideline during the NCAA football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. (Chris Brown/CSM/Alamy Live News/Alamy Stock Photo)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Nike co-founder Phil Knight today deposited a $2 million check in the account of the political action committee Bring Balance to Salem, which backs Republican candidates for the Oregon Legislature.

That PAC, established in 2021, spent more than $4 million in the 2022 cycle, which did not lead to the kind of success Republicans hoped for but arguably helped them end the three-fifths supermajorities that Democrats previously enjoyed in both chambers. Oregon law requires a three-fifths vote of both chambers to pass a new tax, so that threshold carries value.

Knight wrote his check April 4, but under state disclosure laws, Bring Balance to Salem had 30 days to disclose the contribution and did so today. Today also happens to be the second day of a partial Senate Republican walkout over an impending abortion rights bill, which has deprived the upper chamber of the 20-member quorum it needs to hold floor sessions.

Although it’s unclear why the Nike co-founder wrote his check now, it’s not surprising that he did. Knight gave $2 million to Bring Balance to to Salem in 2022 and, in recent years, has generally supported Republican candidates, with the notable exception of the 2022 unaffiliated candidate for governor, former state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose).

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