While Oregon lawmakers debated campaign finance limits, Phil Knight gave $2 million to Republican PAC

BY: JULIA SHUMWAY - MARCH 18, 2024 10:23 AM

While lawmakers debated campaign finance limits last month, Oregon’s richest man quietly gave another $2 million to a political action committee that tries to elect Republicans to the statehouse.

Nike co-founder Phil Knight gave $2 million on Feb. 15 to the Bring Balance to Salem PAC, which spent more than $4 million in 2022 trying to elect Republicans. Knight has given the PAC $7 million since it launched in 2021.
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In turn, committees like Bring Balance to Salem could give no more than $5,000 in a two-year election cycle to a candidate and no more than $15,000 per year to a caucus committee. In 2022, Bring Balance to Salem gave more than $860,000 to Senate Republicans’ Leadership Fund and nearly $560,000 to House Republicans’ Evergreen Oregon PAC, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars directly to candidates.

That spending helped Republicans gain one seat in the Senate and two in the House, though Democrats still hold a four-seat majority in the Senate and a 10-seat majority in the House.

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/while-oregon-lawmakers-debated-campaign-finance-limits-phil-knight-gave-2-million-to-republican-pac/

Phil Knight is the 31st richest man in the world.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/phil-knight/?sh=502c791e1dcb