Greater Idaho urges Trump to support border negotiations with Oregon

Residents of rural Oregon are encouraging President-elect Donald Trump to help solve a border dilemma that may not be on his radar: the Idaho-Oregon state line.

Leaders of the Greater Idaho Movement have asked Mr. Trump to join talks between the two states about moving their shared border east, which would add the agriculture-rich but population-poor eastern Oregon counties to Idaho.

The proposal is at a stalemate. The Idaho Legislature has agreed to discuss the issue, but the Oregon Legislature has not.

“Unlike typical politicians, you have a unique ability to get things done as a practical problem solver, and your support can lead to a peaceful resolution of Oregon’s long-standing East-West divide,” the letter said, starting Wednesday Mr. Trump.

“Helping to achieve this would only cement your legacy as a peacemaker and transformative president,” the letter said. “We would like to formally invite your administration to meet with us to discuss how to make this historic change a reality for the people of Oregon and Idaho.”

Twenty-seven of Oregon’s 36 counties voted for Mr. Trump in the Nov. 5 election, but the state voted 56% to 41% for Vice President Kamala Harris as the remaining nine predominantly northwestern counties represent the state’s population centers.

“It has become clear to the people of Eastern Oregon that our own state government will not listen to us and implement what we voted for, resulting in a moving border,” Matt McCaw, executive director of Citizens for Greater Idaho, said in an explanation. “But we believe that President Trump, for whom the people here voted overwhelmingly, can help us achieve the self-determination to which we are entitled by bringing attention and support to our cause.”

Since 2020, 13 eastern Oregon counties have passed ballot measures in favor of joining Idaho, an effort rooted in frustration over the lack of rural representation in Oregon’s legislature.

That body is controlled by Democratic representatives from northwest Oregon, home to Portland, a left-wing enclave and the state’s largest city.

Eastern Oregon has more than 60% of the state’s land area but only 9% of its population, meaning more rural counties “are being outvoted on every issue progressives raise, disenfranchising us,” it says Letter.

Moving state boundaries would require approval from both state legislatures and Congress, a tall order given that most states would prefer not to give up land, resources and population.

Greater Idaho President Mike McCarter said Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, did not respond to the group’s July 11 request for a meeting to “discuss how we can all work together to win.” “To achieve win-win solutions that help Oregonians on both sides of the cascades.”

Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little has expressed support for the concept, while the Idaho Legislature in 2023 invited Oregon to begin border negotiations.

“For four years we have been going directly to people to find out what they want,” McCarter said. “They have made it clear that they want to start border negotiations. We have also reached out to the Oregon Legislature and Governor Kotek but have not received a response.”

He added: “The Oregon state government has been unwilling to listen to the residents of Eastern Oregon, but we believe the president will.”

Mr. Trump will take office on January 20, making him the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms.