The Greater Idaho movement is calling on several counties in eastern Oregon to secede and join Idaho. (Courtesy of GreaterIdaho.org)
Leaders of the Greater Idaho movement have asked President-elect Donald Trump to support their efforts to get counties in eastern Oregon to join Idaho — a state they say is a better fit politically, economically and culturally.
“Unlike typical politicians, you have a unique ability as a practical problem solver to get things done, and your support can bring a peaceful resolution to Oregon’s longstanding east-west divide,” the three leaders said in a letter of December 4. to Trump.
Matt McCaw, the executive director of Citizens for Greater Idaho, said Thursday morning that the group had not yet received a response from Trump.
“It takes time for these things to sink in, but we’re hoping that someone in government will reach out to us and pick this up,” McCaw said. “This is an idea whose time has come.”
The letter was also signed by Mike McCarter, president of Citizens for Greater Idaho, and Sandie Gilson, its vice president.
Trump’s background in business and not politics is an advantage, McCaw said: “He’s a businessman, he’s a problem solver. He has shown that he is open to ‘outside-the-box’ thinking. And we think this is a perfect match.”
Over the past four years, voters in 13 eastern Oregon counties have passed initiatives that require county commissioners to meet regularly to discuss the benefits of redrawing the Oregon-Idaho border to make the counties part of Idaho.
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McCaw said a meeting with Trump or a surrogate would allow Greater Idaho officials to brief the administration on the move. And after that, he said, “we would hope that the administration could help bring the state of Oregon to the negotiating table.”
“The people of eastern Oregon want this to happen,” McCaw said. “The people of Idaho want this to happen.”
“However,” the letter to Trump said, “Oregon’s legislature and governor remain sullen and prefer to ignore the results of these citizen initiatives as they continue to march the state further and further left.”
The letter added that “Eastern Oregon residents recognize that representative government will never come from Oregon because we are outvoted on every issue progressives raise, leaving us completely disenfranchised.”
While Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris won easily in Oregon, topping Trump by more than 320,000 votes, it was a different story in Oregon’s thirteen eastern counties in the Greater Idaho effort: Trump defeated Harris by more than 50,000 votes in the region.
Legislative approval required
The border change would require approval from the Oregon and Idaho legislatures and ultimately the U.S. Congress. A measure urging leaders of the two states to discuss the change passed the Idaho House of Representatives in 2023 but languished in the Senate. A similar measure was introduced in the Oregon Legislature in 2023, but went nowhere.
McCaw said he expects Greater Idaho measures to be reintroduced in the Oregon and Idaho legislatures in 2025.
In July, Greater Idaho leaders sent a letter to Governor Tina Kotek requesting a meeting. Kotek has not responded, McCaw said, but the offer stands: “We would love to sit down with the governor and start that conversation and advocate for the people of Eastern Oregon and see where it would go from there.”
Speaking to Eastern Oregon reporters in September, Kotek said she had received the invitation but had not yet decided how to respond.
“I’m still thinking about whether it makes sense to go,” she said at the time. “I have great respect for all the Oregonians who spoke up and said ‘we are frustrated’ when they voted for the measures in their counties. …. I guess what I’m trying to figure out is, what’s the best way to continue that conversation with Oregonians?
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a Capital Chronicle request for comment Thursday.
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