Idaho is one of America’s fastest-growing states.
In November, some residents hope Idaho will grow even more — residents of Oregon, that is.
Next month, according to The Washington Times, two counties in eastern Oregon will vote on resolutions that, if passed, would have them break away from the liberal western side of the state, including Portland, the state capital, and become part of Idaho.
It’s called the Greater Idaho initiative.
The plan calls for 15 counties and parts of two others, which combined encompass two-thirds of Oregon’s land mass, to join Idaho.
As the Times noted, “It’s an area that is overwhelmingly conservative, while the state’s politics are dominated by the liberal cities of Portland, Eugene, and Bend in western Oregon.”
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So far, nine Oregon counties have approved the idea of at least looking further into the proposal.
Even if the measure passes in all 17 jurisdictions, it is not a done deal. Affixing those counties to Idaho would require the support of the legislatures of both states, as well as Congress.
As The Free Press reported last year, those who favored breaking up the current Oregon led those who want to retain the status quo by a 44-40 margin.
“It makes more sense for Eastern Oregonians to get state-level governance coming from Idaho, where they share their values, share their culture, share their politics, than it does to be governed by Western Oregon,” Matt McCaw, spokesman for the Greater Idaho movement, told Fox News on Thursday.
“It’s time for the legislature to pick up the ball and start this discussion.”
Fox News noted that in 2020, former President Donald Trump carried 26 of Oregon’s 36 counties. Democrat Joe Biden prevailed primarily in the western and northwestern parts of the state.
It’s unclear whether Greater Idaho can muster enough support to effectuate the split. But Oregon voters seem ready for a change.
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Amazingly, in one of America’s most liberal states, the Republican leads in the race for governor.
According to FiveThirtyEight.com, which analyzes trends in an aggregate of polls, Republican Christine Drazan led Democrat Tina Kotek by 3.1 points in polls as of Thursday — a race that Kotek led as recently as three weeks ago.
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