Map Shows Oregon Counties Voting to Join 'Greater Idaho'

Map produced by the Greater Idaho Movement showing the 13 Oregon counties which have voted to endorse their plan. Note Jefferson and Klamath counties are divided into two on the map, as they would be under the Greater Idaho Movement's plan.

A total of 13 Oregon counties have voted to secede from the stateand join neighboring Idaho, as part of what supporters have dubbed the "Greater Idaho" project.

On May 21, Crook County backed the plan by 53.4 percent to 46.7 percent, with a total of 9,518 people voting. Greater Idaho advocates argue more conservative rural areas in the east and center of Oregon are being dominated by liberal-leaning cities such as Oregon and Salem, and would be better served by joining Republican-dominated Idaho.

According to the Greater Idaho Movement campaign group, the proposal has now been endorsed by voters in Crook, Wallowa, Union, Baker, Malheur, Grant, Harney, Morrow, Wheeler, Lake, Sherman, Jefferson and Klamath counties.

The group is proposing a Greater Idaho consisting of the entirety of Idaho plus the Oregon counties of Wallowa, Union, Baker, Malheur, Umatilla, Grant, Harney, Morrow, Wheeler, Crooke, Lake, Gilliam and Sherman, along with parts of Wasco, Jefferson, Deschutes and Klamath.

Of these, only Umatilla, Gilliam, Wasco and Deschutes have yet to pass resolutions supporting a Greater Idaho.

Initially the Greater Idaho Movement hoped the project would also include part of southern Oregon, but they dropped this plan after voters in Douglas and Josephine counties voted against the proposal.

Speaking to Newsweek following the Crook County vote, Greater Idaho Executive Director Matt McCaw said: "Crook County voters, as well as the rest of eastern Oregon, have made clear that they want to pursue changing their state governance through this peaceful, win-win solution. We call on the governor and leaders of the Oregon legislature to move this forward and open up border talks."

Despite the backing of many counties, creating a Greater Idaho would require approval from both the Oregon and Idaho legislatures as well as Congress.

When asked about the project by Newsweek, Idaho Governor Brad Little said: "I understand why many people want to be Idahoans. They're looking at Idaho fondly because of our strong economy, regulatory atmosphere and our values.

"Still, the decision to change Idaho and Oregon's borders would need to go through both states' legislatures and the U.S. Congress for approval. There's a lot that needs to happen before moving the border is within the realm of possibility."

On its website, the Greater Idaho Movement argued that Oregon no longer makes sense as a cultural or political entity in its current form.

It states: "If the United States were governed as a single state, we wouldn't have the opportunity for state governance to vary according to the culture of a local area. The purpose of having state lines is to allow this variance.

"The Oregon/Idaho line was established 163 years ago and is now outdated. It makes no sense in its current location because it doesn't match the location of the cultural divide in Oregon. The Oregon/Washington line was updated in 1958. It's time to move other state lines."

The Greater Idaho project is being opposed by Western States Strategies, the political arm of the Portland-based nonprofit Western States Center.

During an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting in 2023, Jill Garvey, Western States' chief of staff, said she was worried about the Greater Idaho project as previous secessionist movements in Oregon have had connections to white nationalists.

She said: "What we're doing is just pulling back the curtain. Nothing else. These are how these organizations are connected. We're naming what we believe their real goals are."

Newsweek hasn't seen any evidence that those behind Citizens for Greater Idaho hold white nationalist views. Newsweek reached out to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek for comment by email outside of normal office hours.

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