A Benton County man quietly gave $100,000 to a Tea Party super PAC in January, new federal campaign finance reports show.
David Gore, who lives north of Corvallis, donates regularly to conservative causes. But his Jan. 7 contribution to the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund more than doubled all his previous federal donations since 2007.
It’s the largest single donation from an Oregonian since Nike founder Phil Knight cut four $100,000 checks to Republican causes between 2016 and 2018.
A phone message left Monday morning at a number listed for Gore, 74, has not been returned.
Gore helped start the Cascade Policy Institute, a Portland-area Libertarian think tank, in 1991. He remained on the board of directors until 2015, according to the nonprofit’s annual tax-exempt filings.
As a political donor, he has directed most of his money to Tea Party groups and a handful of Republican candidates.
Tea Party Patriots touts support online for President Donald Trump, as well as several Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas. It is currently urging people to sign petitions to retain Attorney Gen. William Barr and to investigate the business dealings of presidential candidate Joe Biden.
As a super PAC, the Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund can’t give directly to individual campaigns. Instead, such groups buy ads and use other methods to advocate for specific outcomes in federal elections.
Gore’s $100,000 contribution provided a vital infusion of cash. The group started 2020 with $11,200 cash in reserves, federal filings say.
It was the largest one-time donation reported by the group since July 2018. Gore also gave $25,000 to the group in January 2018.
Gore’s parents started the company that developed Gore-Tex, described by The Oregonian in 1987 as the “daddy of the waterproof/breathable fabrics.”
The family company, W. L. Gore & Assoc., still exists today and is based in Newark, Delaware. The privately-held company has said it generates $3.5 billion in annual sales and employs 10,500 people.
Gore previously listed himself as one of the company’s directors, but more recent federal campaign finance filings describe him as retired.
Gore also operated his own company in Corvallis that focused on new ways of fabricating metal, but he shuttered that in 2001. Along with his wife, he started Ashbrook Independent School, a private K-8 school in Corvallis.
Although Gore has lived in Oregon for decades, he hasn’t spent heavily on state or local races. State records show he has donated just $1,375 in Oregon since 2007.
-- Molly Young
myoung@oregonian.com
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