Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Oregon-based Nike, has given $250,000 to Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber’s campaign for a fourth term.

The donation is a political win for Kitzhaber and a reversal for Knight, who backed Kitzhaber’s Republican challenger Chris Dudley in 2010 with $400,000 in cash contributions.

In the race for governor, Kitzhaber faces Republican challenger Dennis Richardson, a state representative, and a handful of minor party candidates in the Nov. 4 election.

Knight and other Nike executives have been active in Oregon politics for years. In 2012, Knight doled out contributions of $2,500 and $5,000 to dozens of legislators and candidates, primarily in October. In December of that year, Kitzhaber called the Legislature into special session to approve a tax deal for Nike ahead of a $150-million expansion to its headquarters in Washington County.

Knight has backed both Republican and Democratic candidates in legislative and gubernatorial races and has donated to initiative efforts.

Mark Parker, Nike’s president and CEO, thanked Kitzhaber and state and local leaders for helping “expedite and support the proposed design, planning and building of the expansion of our headquarters,” according to a company press release from April 2013.

The company says its employment has increased by 60 percent since 2007, with 8,000 workers based in Washington County.

Nike also touts its support of marriage equality in Oregon. Company executives and a political action committee gave $280,000 to the initiative in 2013.

That initiative, which would have appeared on the 2014 ballot, was dropped after a federal judge overturned the state’s 2004 gay marriage ban.

— Reporter: 406-589-4347,

tanderson@bendbulletin.com