Former NBA player Chris Dudley has won his rookie political contest, grabbing the Republican nomination for governor of Oregon.
Dudley defeated Allen Alley with 40 percent of the vote, with 70 percent of the expected vote counted. Alley had 32 percent.
Dudley has been a consultant on executive benefits and a wealth adviser since retiring from basketball in 2003. He played 16 seasons, including six with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Both he and Alley are from the upscale Portland suburb Lake Oswego.
Former state legislator John Lim had 14 percent and conservative ballot activist Bill Sizemore had 8 percent.
Dudley will face former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber in the fall. Democrat Ted Kulongoski is leaving office after two terms.
John Kitzhaber won the Democratic nomination to run for an unprecedented third term as governor of Oregon.
He had 68 percent of the vote with 50 percent of the expected vote counted. The other top contender was Bill Bradbury, former Oregon secretary of state. He had 28 percent.
Kitzhaber won two terms as governor in the 1990s and was known for advocating measures to save salmon and reform healthcare.
Democrat Ted Kulongoski is leaving office after two terms. State law prohibits governors from serving more than two consecutive terms, but allows former governors to run again after they're out of office at least four years.
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