Conservatives in Oregon and California have launched a campaign to redraw state borders so that they can join Idaho, where they believe legislators will more effectively represent their values and interests.
The campaign, known as Greater Idaho, hopes to expand the borders of Idaho westward in order to encompass large swathes of rural Oregon and parts of Northern California.
‘Rural counties have become increasingly outraged by laws coming out of the Oregon Legislature that threaten our livelihoods, our industries, our wallet, our gun rights, and our values,’ Greater Idaho proponent Mike McCarter told USA Today on Tuesday.
‘We tried voting those legislators out, but rural Oregon is outnumbered and our voices are now ignored. This is our last resort.’
Oregon and California are both overwhelmingly liberal, while Idaho is one of the most conservative states in the country, with 80% of its legislature Republican.
59% of Idaho residents voted for Trump in 2016, while Hillary Clinton received just 26% of the vote.
‘People here [in rural Oregon] would prefer Idaho’s conservative governance to the progressive/liberal current Oregon governance,’ another proponent, Valerie Gottschalk, stated.
Two counties in Oregon have tentatively approved the idea, and the Greater Idaho group is now aiming to have the proposal put onto ballots at the November election.
The campaign, named Greater Idaho , hopes to expand the borders of Idaho westward in order to encompass large swathes of rural Oregon and parts of Northern California. A proposal of the redrawn borders is pictured
As part of the proposal, the small and picturesque city of Ashland, Oregon (population 21,117) would become part of Idaho, despite the fact many of its residents are liberal
Under the proposal, 22 of Oregon’s 36 counties would join Idaho, but – as most of those counties are rural and sparsely populated – the population of Oregon would only decrease by 21%, or 1.2 million.
‘Moving the border would require approval from the U.S. Congress as well as the Idaho and Oregon Legislatures’ USA Today reports, but the Greater Idaho group believes it’s a realistic goal.
In a 38-page proposal, published on the Greater Idaho website, the campaigners state: ‘This proposal is different from secession because it is simply a shift in borders that does not affect the balance of power in the US Senate.
‘It does not create a new state or increase the number of states. Borders between states have been relocated or redefined many times in US history’.
They say the move to redraw the borders will be also be a win for the liberals who will remain in Oregon and California.
The more populous and liberal parts of Oregon – including hipster capital Portland (pictured) would not be placed within Idaho’s enlarged borders
The groups says the move to redraw the borders will be also be a win-win, as Oregon and California will lose its conservative counties, becoming more liberal, while Idaho will become even more conservative
‘By letting conservative counties go, this deal makes the position of the Democratic Party stronger in Oregon and California,’ the proposal states. ‘Their electorates would become more progressive.’
‘The groups of counties changing to another state in this proposal voted very heavily for Trump. Their departure will reduce the partisanship in Oregon and California.’
The proposal continues: ‘These areas [of rural Oregon and California] agree with Idaho on culture-war issues and policy issues. As the philosophy of the Left has unmoored itself from Biblical morality, it will continue to move farther and farther from tradition, following trends of psychology wherever they lead.’
However, its not the first time that rural Oregon residents have tried to leave their state.
Residents tried – and failed – to create their own separate state, known as ‘Jefferson’, back in 1941.
59% of Idaho residents voted for Trump in 2016, while Hillary Clinton received just 26% of the vote