A New York Times columnist with roots in Yamhill County is mulling whether to jump in the the Democratic primary for governor in 2022.

Nicholas Kristof lived on a farm just northwest of the state capital in Salem. He is on a leave of absence from the newspaper to decide whether to run.

The possible bid, first reported in Willamette Week, would throw Kristof into the pack of names being mentioned as possible replacements for Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat who cannot run again because of term limits.

Among those frequently mentioned in Oregon media as possible candidates are Treasurer Tobias Read, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, SEIU labor leader Melissa Unger, and several politicians involved in Portland-area city and county politics.

Several Republicans have also created campaign finance committees to run, but the GOP candidate has not won since Gov. Vic Atiyeh captured a second term in 1982.

Candidates cannot officially file to run for office before Sept. 9. Political action committees to raise funds for candidates are already allowed by filing with the Secretary of State.   

In a public statement released earlier this week, Kristof said that Oregon needed leadership that would bring residents together and get the state “back on track.” He still had to decide if he was the person to try.

“I have friends trying to convince me that here in Oregon, we need new leadership from outside the broken political system,” he wrote.

Kristof has twice won the Pulitzer Prize, journalism’s top award, for coverage of international issues. He and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, won the international reporting award for stories on the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China and the subsequent bloody crackdown in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Kristoff won the Pulitzer for commentary in 2006 for columns on mass-murder in the Darfur region of Sudan in Africa.

Along with WuDunn, Kristof more recently focused on inequality in the United States. Their book, “Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope,” touched on struggles with addiction, racism and poverty. 

The Times issued a statement that Kristof had informed management of the possibility of his seeking office in Oregon. In keeping with the newspaper’s ethical rules, Kristoff would step down until he either left the newspaper to go into politics or returned after deciding not to make the jump.

Kristof has taken an active role in the management of his family’s farm, transitioning from cherry orchards to wine grapes and cider apples, according to the Times.

Jack Shafer, a media critic, wrote Tuesday in Politico magazine that voters will have their own questions about Kristof’s desire and determination.

“Does he really want to give up the high-prestige job of free-roving Times columnist for the thankless job of herding legislators and cracking down on administrators?” Shafer wrote. “And if he collects a long-shot win, what sort of guv might he be?”