Greater Idaho group courts Trump support

The leaders of the Greater Idaho movement have asked President-elect Donald Trump to support their efforts to have counties in eastern Oregon join Idaho — a state they say is more in tune with them 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 long-standing east-west divide,” the three leaders said in a Dec. 4 letter to Trump.

Matt McCaw, the executive director of Citizens for Greater Idaho, said Thursday morning that the group has not yet received a response from Trump.

“It takes time for these things to filter through, but we are hopeful that somebody from the administration will reach out to us and pick this up,” McCaw said. “This is an idea whose time has come.”

The letter also was signed by Mike McCarter, president of Citizens for Greater Idaho, and Sandie Gilson, the vice president.

Trump’s background in business and not politics is an advantage, McCaw said: “He’s a businessperson, he’s a problem-solver. He’s shown that he’s been open to outside-the-box thinking. And we think that this is a perfect fit.”

Over the last four years, voters in 13 eastern Oregon counties have passed initiatives requiring county commissioners to meet regularly to discuss the merits of moving the Oregon-Idaho border so that the counties are part of Idaho.

McCaw said a meeting with Trump or a surrogate would allow the Greater Idaho officials to bring the administration up to speed on the movement. And after that, he said, “what we would hope is that the administration could help get 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, preferring to ignore the results of these citizens’ initiatives while continuing to march the state ever more left.”

The letter added that “eastern Oregon residents recognize that representative government will never come from Oregon because we are outvoted on every issue the progressives put forth, leaving us completely disenfranchised.”

While Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris easily won in Oregon, outpolling Trump by more than 320,000 votes, it was a different story in the 13 eastern Oregon counties in the Greater Idaho effort: Trump beat Harris by more than 50,000 votes in the region.

Legislative approval needed

The border change would require the approval of the Oregon and Idaho legislatures and, eventually, 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 state Senate. A similar measure was introduced in the 2023 Oregon Legislature but went nowhere.

McCaw said he expects Greater Idaho measures will be introduced again in the Oregon and Idaho legislatures in 2025.

In July, Greater Idaho leaders sent a letter to Gov. Tina Kotek asking for 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.”

In a September conversation with eastern Oregon journalists, Kotek said she had received the invitation but had not yet decided how to respond.

“I’m still considering whether that makes sense to go,” she said at the time. “I very much respect all the Oregonians who made their voices heard and said ‘we’re frustrated’ when they voted for the measures in their counties. … I think what I’m trying to figure out is, what’s the best way to continue that conversation with Oregonians?”

Mike McInally is a longtime reporter and editor who’s worked at the Corvallis Gazette-Times, the Albany Democrat-Herald and the Missoulian, in Missoula, Mont. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a Capital Chronicle request for comment on Thursday.