(CNN) — Nicholas Kristof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, announced Thursday that he is departing The New York Times as he explores a run for governor of Oregon.
“I’ve been on the ride of a lifetime with The Times. I’ve gotten to know presidents and tyrants, Nobel laureates and warlords, while visiting 160 countries. And precisely because I have a great job, outstanding editors and the best readers, I may be an idiot to leave,” Kristof said in a statement.
“But you all know how much I love Oregon, and how much I’ve been seared by the suffering of old friends there,” he added. “So I’ve reluctantly concluded that I should try not only to expose problems but also see if I can fix them directly.”
Kristof, 62, was raised on a farm in Yamhill, Oregon, and has been living there recently with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn — though some people have raised doubts as to whether his residency will meet Oregon’s three-year requirement for a gubernatorial bid.
Kristof and WuDunn last year published a book, “Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope,” which included an account of the Knapp family, childhood friends and neighbors of Kristof’s whom the book includes among “working-class people dying of despair.”
Oregon’s current governor — Kate Brown, 61, a Democrat — cannot seek re-election because of term limits. She has held the office since 2015, when John Kitzhaber resigned amid an influence-peddling scandal. Brown won a special election in 2016 and was elected to a full term in 2018.
Among the declared candidates are Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek and state Treasurer Tobias Read on the Democratic side and 2016 Republican candidate Bud Pierce. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has also been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate.
Kristof, who has worked as an opinion columnist since 2001 and is among the Times’ most prominent journalists, had been on leave since July as he explored whether to run for the office.
His move to part ways with the Times signals he has likely made the decision to run.
“Few columnists have better embodied the journalist values of The Times than Nick Kristof, which makes it all the harder to say today that he has decided to leave us after a storied 37-year career,” Kathleen Kingsbury, opinion editor at the Times, said in a memo to colleagues.
Kingsbury added, “His dispatches don’t just point to problems, they regularly lead to real changes that improve lives.”
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