Chris Dudley is getting back into the political game.

Sixteen years after the former Portland Trail Blazers center came within one percentage point of beating Democrat John Kitzhaber for governor in 2010, Dudley announced on Monday he’s entering the GOP primary and going to try to be the next governor of Oregon once again.

The former NBA center has openly considered another run at the governor’s seat for months. He’s been making the rounds and criticizing the state’s low education rankings and the city of Portland’s downfall.

“Oregon used to be a national leader in so many areas,” Dudley said in a recent interview with OPB. “And we need to be a leader again, and we need to work together, regardless of party, work together and say, ‘Hey, we can do better.’”

When Dudley first ran for governor, he had help from the state’s wealthiest resident. Phil Knight pitched in about $400,000 to the effort.

Dudley has to overcome some long odds to make it to Mahonia Hall. It’s been a long time since Oregon had a Republican in the governor’s mansion. The last time was in 1987 when Vic Atiyeh held the role and Clyde Drexler was still playing on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Dudley will likely face a tough primary. He will face off against Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, who has extensive political experience and who also ran for governor in 2022. One point that could hurt him in the primary is his stance on women’s reproductive health care. He’s long been supportive of abortion rights. In 2010, his views put him at odds with Oregon Right to Life, the state’s anti-abortion group. Drazan, who is anti-abortion, won that group’s endorsement.

Dudley graduated from Yale, played in the NBA for more than a decade and worked in wealth management after. In November, he told OPB he doesn’t identify as a “moderate” and doesn’t like labels.

If Dudley makes it past the primary, he will face incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/26/chris-dudley-enters-oregon-governors-race/