Kristof can’t run for governor
By Terry Murry on Friday, January 7th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The Elections Division of the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office has ruled that Pulitzer-prize winning columnist Nicholas Kristof cannot run for governor of Oregon because his candidacy would violate the state Constitution. It requires gubernatorial candidates to have lived in Oregon for at least three years.
Kristof grew up in Oregon, is a longtime property owner, and returns to Oregon nearly every summer. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s division focused on Kristof’s record of voting in New York state as recently as 2020. They also noted that Kristof maintained a New York driver license through December 2020, and paid New York income taxes after the deadline for Oregon residency of November 2019.
“While there have been creative legal arguments and an impressive PR campaign, our election officials told me it wasn’t even a close call,” Fagan said of the Elections Division ruling at a news conference Thursday.
According to a report in the New York Times, Kristof plans to appeal the ruling. He has reportedly raised more than $2 million for his campaign, far more than other Democratic front runners for governor have raised.
