Candidates in Oregon’s top election race building war chests

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - An election to choose Oregon's next governor is more than a year away, but the main Democratic and Republican candidates' fund-raising is already going full steam.

A total of almost $2.4 million has been raised so far.

Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, is shrugging off the $500,000 donation Nike co-founder Phil Knight gave in August to her Republican rival, Knute Buehler, a member of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Brown's campaign has reported raising $1.25 million from more than 10,000 cash contributions since Jan. 1, according to figures compiled by the Oregon Secretary of State and her campaign.

The Buehler campaign's fund-raising dates back to only Aug. 3, when he announced his candidacy. The reported contributions already amount to more than $1.1 million, the Secretary of State's office's data show.