The Greater Idaho Movement sent an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking for a meeting. The group represents 13 conservative Oregon counties that have voted to secede from the liberal bastion and join the more conservative state of Idaho.
“We need help from your administration to make this happen. The people here overwhelmingly voted for you,” the letter says. “We humbly ask you for your support in helping Eastern Oregonians achieve what the people have said they want, and that’s to join Idaho.”
This is an excellent thread that helps people outside Oregon understand why Eastern Oregonians are voting to join Idaho. Oregon Democrats have used every tool at their disposal to cement political power in the state, not ensure fair representation. And the fact that our current… https://t.co/BbhKfllByX
— the Greater Idaho movement (@GreaterIdaho) December 5, 2024
Ever since the pandemic closures and high-handed efforts to vax anything with two legs, nascent secessionist movements in several states have taken flight. Most of them have little chance of succeeding, largely because they want their states to secede from the union. That's just not going to happen.
The case for the Greater Idaho Movement is different. There is precedent for redrawing state lines based on ideological (West Virginia) and practical (the 1970 Boundary Treaty that ceded Rio Rico, Texas, to Mexico) lines. It's also a lot easier. If the state legislatures agree and Congress approves, the 13 Oregon counties will be able to join Idaho.
“We have a new Congress coming in. We have a new administration. We see this as an opportunity to move this to a national level and get this done,” Matt McCaw, the executive director of the Greater Idaho Movement, tells The New York Sun. “This solves a problem. It gets better government for 400,000 people. It lowers political tension, and it’s an idea that’s popular.”
Supporters of Greater Idaho want to leave dark blue Oregon for redder pastures. Since 2020, 13 counties in eastern and central Oregon have voted in favor of joining their neighbor, Idaho. The proposed new state border would run along the Cascade Mountains and move nearly two-thirds of the eastern part of the state into a larger — greater — Idaho.
The counties in question voted for Trump in November by an average of 70 percent — a similar percentage to Idaho. These are sparsely populated, rural counties that depend on ranching, timber, and blue-collar industries.
The sticking point for the Greater Idaho Movement is the state government's refusal to entertain any notion of secession whatsoever.
“It’s become clear to the people of eastern Oregon that our own state government is not going to listen to us and enact what we’ve voted for, which is moving the border,” McCaw said in a press release. “But we believe that President Trump, whom the people here overwhelmingly voted for, can help us achieve the self-determination we have a right to by bringing attention and support to our cause.”
Other secession movements in Alaska, Texas, New Hampshire, and California are also more hopeful with Trump taking office.
Western Oregon, anchored by the cities of Portland and Salem, is home to roughly 85 percent of the state’s population and votes overwhelmingly Democratic. Those in the east say this population imbalance means they’ll never get a state government that reflects their values and priorities. Democrats not only have a trifecta in Oregon state government but also a supermajority in the legislature, where they have passed far-left policies when it comes to drugs, gun control, taxes, abortion, and transgender issues.
“The tension doesn’t come from Portland having different values from eastern Oregon. The tension comes from Portland values being forced on eastern Oregon because of the state government,” Mr. McCaw says.
The pandemic and the growing cultural divide that blue-state conservatives are becoming angrier about exacerbated the urban/rural imbalance. As long as that divide continues to expand, secessionist movements will grow and thrive.
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