Former longtime New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof announced Wednesday that he's running for governor of Oregon.
“I am confident we can do better as a state. I do think that’s going to require vision and leadership and sending a different kind of leader to Salem,” Kristof, 62, told NBC affiliate KGW. “I can provide that kind of leadership.”
The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, who resigned from the Times earlier this month to weigh a run for the seat being vacated by the term-limited Gov. Kate Brown, will run as a Democrat.
He told the station his priorities are homelessness, affordable housing, education, and jobs. “There are so many areas we need to address," he said.
The news site Willamette Week raised questions in August about whether Kristof meets the state's residency requirement to run. Candidates are required to have lived in the state for three years prior to a run, and while Kristof is an Oregon native, he voted in New York in 2020.
Kristof and his lawyers countered with a memo that contended he did meet the requirements needed.
"My soul is here. My bones are here," he told KGW.
A first-time candidate, Kristof is jumping into an already crowded field. He's one of 10 Democrats and 12 Republicans vying for the job ahead of the May 2022 primaries.
