Following the money in the race for Oregon governor

By Anna Canzano KATU News Published: Oct 23, 2010 at 3:02 AM PDT
Following the money in the race for Oregon governor »Play Video
Democrat John Kitzhaber and Republican Chris Dudley.

PORTLAND, Ore. – It is astounding the amount of money that has been raised and spent by both campaigns for Oregon governor - adding it up it’s more than $14 million.

So who’s writing the biggest checks? A look at state campaign finance records answers that question.

Leading the money race is Republican candidate Chris Dudley. He’s added more than $8.6 million to his campaign coffers since last year. His biggest supporter, not surprisingly, is the Republican Governors Association. The association operates from out of state and gave him a whopping $2.2 million.

It also gave the Oregon Republican Party $250,000 which turned around and donated to Dudley’s race with in-kind contributions of $210,000. Unlike cash, in-kind contributions come in the form of goods and services.

Also topping his list of donors is Stimson Lumber ($235,000); Austin Industries ($200,000); Phil Knight of Nike fame ($200,000); S&G Properties ($140,000); and the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association ($110,000).

Meanwhile, Democrat John Kitzhaber has raised $5.4 million since last year. His biggest contributor is also from out of state. The Democratic Governors Association has poured in just over a million dollars to help Kitzhaber win his old job back.

Next in line is the "Who is Chris Dudley" political action committee. It chipped in $250,000 with a good chunk of money from the Oregon Education Association.

After that the Coalition for a Healthy Oregon gave $125,250; Doctors for Healthy Communities ($125,000); and Douglas County Physicians PAC ($125,000).

Rounding out his top donors is American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) with a contribution of $125,000. It is out of state money from the largest public employee and health care workers union in the country.
Kitzhaber’s largest individual donor is local publisher and political activist Win McCormack ($75,000).

What’s always interesting is to see who’s giving to both candidates. Nike, for example, gave Kitzhaber $22,500 and Dudley $15,000.

Fred Meyer’s parent company, Kroger, gave $12,000 to Kitzhaber and $10,000 to Dudley.