Oregon Republicans Want To Secede And Join Idaho, Will They?

By FrumNews.com 

Eastern Oregon Republicans and common-sense residents want to merge with the neighboring state of Idaho to create “Greater Idaho”. That’s the vibe in the state’s eastern counties, which lean conservative that want nothing to do with Portland due to high crime and high taxes affecting the entire state because of the radical policies implemented from their far-left legislators.

Although Oregon as a whole is generally considered a blue state, Eastern Oregon is far more conservative than the West.

The proposal would move Idaho’s border west by 200 miles and put 13 eastern Oregon counties and 4 partial eastern Oregon counties under the governance of Idaho instead of Oregon.

In 2021, five counties in Eastern Oregon voted to direct their County Commissioners to hold annual hearings on the issue of joining Idaho. It was initiated by the groups, who support the Greater Idaho movement. As of May 2022, eight counties had voted to direct their County Commissioners to examine the issue further. Some counties, such as Douglas and Josephine, had voted against joining the coalition. By November, three more counties in Eastern Oregon, for a total of eleven, had voted to join Idaho, a number that grew to 12 by June of 2023.

This past Tuesday, on May 21st, Crook County voted in favor of Measure 7-86, advising the Crook County Court that voters supported continued negotiations regarding relocating the Oregon-Idaho border to include Crook County within the Idaho border.

Driving the force is a sharp political divide between the more sparsely populated, rural and conservative East of Oregon, and the liberal coastal cities with population hubs like Portland and the state capital, Salem.

Organizers of the Greater Idaho movement say that the Portland metro region, which has rampant crime, high taxes, anti-business policies, nightly BLM protests and sometimes riots (in 2024) and lawlessness supported by their far-left progressive elected officials, “is embarking on social experiments, a cultural revolution that rural counties want no part of. Eastern Oregon has a different culture and values. Eastern Oregon votes even more Republican than Idaho does.”

Changing the state’s border would still need agreement from the Idaho and Oregon legislatures, and Congress.

Will it happen?

Whether the plan to create a “Greater Idaho” happens does show a divided U.S., not between states, but between regions within the states.

To be real, the plan would likely never pass. However, these divides are emblematic of most states that have a large liberal metro population, like New York, California and Texas. That is the general rural-urban divide (or a regional divide) between the state’s large major cities and other areas that feel like they “are left to the dust.”

Succession from states is nothing new in the U.S., most notably, in the lead-up to the Civil War, states were split apart to uphold the compromise of 1850. Maine was split from Massachusetts, Kentucky and West Virginia were split from Virginia.

In New York State, Long Island, New York City and Buffalo all had succession movements at some point.

Staten Island voted to secede from New York City in the 90’s and tries again every few years. Since COVID-19 and the civil unrest proceeding it in NYC, combined with city hall welcoming and funding illegal aliens from our tax dollars. Repeat calls from Staten Island Republican elected officials considering the idea of seceding away from New York City, saying it will lower crime and lower taxes.

Across the Hudson River, a campaign to split New Jersey between North Jersey and South Jersey was formed in the 80’s. Also, South Florida tried to succeed from Northern Florida.