Nick Kristof鈥檚 bid to be the next governor of Oregon is over.
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a decision from Secretary of State Shemia Fagan should stand. Last month, Fagan said that Kristof couldn鈥檛 be on the May primary ballot as a gubernatorial candidate because . Kristof challenged Fagan鈥檚 decision, but the court agreed with her.
At a press conference following the ruling Thursday, Kristof said he鈥檚 not leaving Oregon, and that he鈥檚 going to keep fighting for it any way he can. He was a guest on OPB鈥檚 鈥淭hink Out Loud庐鈥� Friday.
The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Dave Miller: I want to start with some of what you said when the Secretary of State said that you could not be on the ballot last month. You said that her decision was grounded in politics. You said, 鈥淎 failing political establishment is protecting itself. The status quo is defending itself.鈥� You also said that, because you come from outside the political establishment and don鈥檛 owe the insiders anything, they view your campaign as a threat. You were criticized for those comments. People said that you risked undermining Oregonians鈥� faith in our political systems at a time when there鈥檚 already an avalanche of misinformation or disinformation about elections all around the country. Do you stand by all of that language?
Nick Kristof: Yeah, I stand by it. I mean, there鈥檚 a tradeoff one has to, on the one hand, hold institutions accountable and people accountable, and I think we can do better in this state. I think everybody acknowledges that. And yet, the way to move forward is also to work with those institutions, and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing. That鈥檚 what I will continue to do. I really do want to focus on how we, as a state, can best address the kind of needs that I saw when I was running, not least 22,000 homeless kids who keep me up at night.
Miller: The tone of those remarks [about the Secretary of State鈥檚 decision] were very different from what you said yesterday. Yesterday, you said, 鈥淲hile we are disappointed in the decision, we respect their ruling and thank the justices for their thoughtful consideration of this matter.鈥� The court agreed with the Secretary of State, but you don鈥檛 see the Oregon Supreme Court as a part of the political establishment that鈥檚 trying to prevent you from governing?
Kristof: I have a lot of respect for the Oregon judiciary, and I wish they had ruled differently 鈥� the justices 鈥� but I have full confidence in their integrity. And so, I accept that decision and I鈥檒l have to figure out other ways to make any difference on the issues I really care about.
Miller: And we鈥檙e going to get to that. I鈥檓 very interested in the issues you want to focus on and how you intend to do that. But just to stick on this one last point 鈥� you鈥檙e saying you still believe that the reason you鈥檙e not going to be on the ballot is political. You鈥檙e saying you have faith in the judiciary, but the fact that this was an issue ever, you鈥檙e still saying that that this is a political decision, not a legal one?
Kristof: Look, I don鈥檛 want to belabor it, you know, three other secretaries of state all said that they would have ruled differently. And so at the end of the day, it鈥檚 clear that who the Secretary of State was at that time determined the outcome. But again, that鈥檚 water under the bridge and I鈥檓 going to be just fine. My concern is a lot of other people who won鈥檛 be just fine.
Miller: One of the issues that the court brought up was the question of being registered to vote and voting in a place. They said, 鈥淭he choice of where to register is a meaningful one as it provides evidence of the political community to which a person feels the greatest attachment, the community in whose elections that person wishes to have a say.鈥� This was one of the issues that the Secretary of State brought up 鈥� the fact that you had voted in New York State as recently as 2020. Do you agree with the court鈥檚 statement there that the choice of where to register provides evidence of the political community to which a person feels the greatest attachment?
Kristof: Yeah, it was actually a point that our legal briefs made: That it鈥檚 one point of evidence, that there are lots of points of evidence. Where you vote is evidence, where you do business, where you spend time, where your family is, that there鈥檚 no one test and that there are 1,000 tests, and one has to balance those.
Miller: If you鈥檙e not voting for the people who are representing that state in other ways, whether it鈥檚 governor or other offices, I guess what I鈥檓 wondering is, how significant is it in your mind to vote in a place?
Kristof: I do think it鈥檚 significant, but I think where one spends time is significant. I think where one tries to make a difference is important, where one is engaged in philanthropy, where one raises one鈥檚 family. I mean, there are many, many elements of life. Life is complicated and there鈥檚 an awful lot of folks who do have complicated residency if they鈥檙e in the military service, if they鈥檙e college students, if they鈥檙e migrant laborers ... . But the court reached a decision. I respect its decision.
Miller: So let鈥檚 turn to the campaign itself. The last time we talked was after you鈥檇 written a book all about not just Oregon, but other places that had struggling communities all around the country, but Yamhill County figured prominently in it. And when you were campaigning, you did something that was a version of what you鈥檝e done for most of a 40 or so year career 鈥� traveling around talking to people. I鈥檓 curious how that was different when you were doing it, not just to glean information about how Oregonians were doing, but also because you were trying to sell yourself? You had another objective as well.
Kristof: Yeah, but the common thread is that, whether I鈥檓 using the political toolbox or the journalistic toolbox, I鈥檓 trying to call attention to issues so that we can see progress on them. It鈥檚 not about me; it鈥檚 about really trying to make a difference on issues. So, in Lincoln City, I came across the case of woman who is employed at a grocery store, at a supermarket, and yet is still homeless living out of her car. (She) has been for the last year, even though she has a colostomy bag. You can imagine the impediments of hygiene in that situation. And I think about her and, if this was a year ago, I would have highlighted her case in a column to try to call attention to address the housing crisis in Oregon. And instead, I did in my talks. But the purpose is the same 鈥� to see how we can do a better job in this state of meeting people鈥檚 needs that right now are not being met.
Miller: You focused on a number of issues in your campaign and talked about some of them yesterday, including housing, homelessness, climate change, economic inequality, criminal justice, early childhood education. Is there a single issue that you feel most passionate now about putting your energy toward?
Kristof: Well, I mean, broadly, it鈥檚 kind of people left behind and especially kids. I鈥檝e got a couple of friends who are on the precipice of homelessness and that鈥檚 because of untreated mental illness, untreated addiction, it鈥檚 an educational failure, all of these things that go together. And they have a 2-year-old son who is now in foster care. We know that foster care outcomes are wretched, and so I just fear that we are now going to be repeating that cycle, and that is happening all over Oregon. Too often, we鈥檙e willing to invest in incarcerating people, but not in the early childhood support, in the job training, in the mental health services and the addiction treatment that would be a far more efficient and humane use of our tax dollars.
Miller: How do you plan to get things done as a private citizen in Yamhill?
Kristof: Good question. I welcome ideas and I鈥檓 not sure what my next chapter is. I鈥檝e had some people reach out with suggestions, but the common thread for my career forever has been that I鈥檝e been kind of a storyteller in ways to propel issues onto the agenda that get them addressed. I try to be a problem solver, and I鈥檝e used the journalism toolbox to try to address that. I鈥檝e used the philanthropy toolbox to try to address that. We reorganized our family farm. We wrote our book. We did a PBS documentary about these issues. And then I tried the political toolbox and that did not work out. But, one way or the other, I鈥檒l find ways that will make a difference on these issues.
Miller: You鈥檝e said that you can鈥檛 do this alone. What are the groups or individuals that you know now you would like to partner with?
Kristof: Oh, you know, there鈥檚 so many folks all around Oregon, all around the country, who are doing just extraordinary work on these issues. One of the great innovations in Oregon that should be more celebrated is relief nurseries, which started in Eugene and works with at-risk, very young kids and provides them the kind of support and reduces the trauma that too many young kids get exposed to. And it鈥檚 a great model, but it should be in more cities around Oregon. It should be in more places around the country. But there鈥檚 no one model, there鈥檚 no one approach.
Miller: According to ORESTAR, the site where we can look at how much money candidates have raised and how much they鈥檝e spent, you have about $1.5 million in campaign funds right now. The Secretary of State鈥檚 Office says you can refund campaign money, you can donate it to other candidates or committees, you could reorganize your campaign committee if you want to run for a different office yourself. What are your thoughts about what you鈥檒l do with that money?
Kristof: I just don鈥檛 know. This just happened and I鈥檝e been busy talking to people, reacting, talking to family. And so I haven鈥檛 had a chance to think about this. We鈥檒l have to unwind the campaign and then think, what we do with this resource and I just don鈥檛 know.
Miller: What do you feel to be the biggest thing you鈥檝e learned from this episode?
Kristof: Traveling around the state has just left me with a reminder of how many folks have been left behind and that neither the political system nor other institutions have been able to deal with their needs. And one of the stories that just continues to haunt me is of a Beaverton woman who had two kids 鈥� an elementary school girl and a middle school son 鈥� and the only place that she could find to house them that she could afford was a $650 a month garden shed in somebody鈥檚 yard with no electricity, no heating, no plumbing, just a bucket for a toilet. And the kids couldn鈥檛 bathe. They had lice. They smelled and other kids taunted them. The girl attempted suicide and the children were removed from that family, from a mother who loved them and did her best to support them but couldn鈥檛 get housing. That鈥檚 a collective failure when we can鈥檛 make housing available for somebody who was working full-time and desperately loves her kids.
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