Greater Idaho leaders invite Gov. Kotek to discuss potential border movement

In May, Crook County became the 13th Oregon county to vote in favor of considering the Greater Idaho movement.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The organization pushing for the relocation of the Oregon-Idaho border said it has formally invited Gov. Tina Kotek to further discuss the movement.

According to the Thursday morning announcement, Greater Idaho contacted the governor’s office in an attempt to schedule a meeting “at a time and place of her choosing.”

The meeting would happen as a result of the primary election, in which Crook County became the 13th Oregon county to vote in favor of potentially seceding the state. Preliminary data showed that nearly 53% of local voters approved the measure.

Idaho’s House of Representatives passed a bill that allowed state leaders to discuss the relocation in more detail back in 2023. The leaders of the Greater Idaho movement — President Mike McCarter, Vice President Sandie Gilson and Executive Director Matt McCaw — told Kotek it was about time for more of Oregon’s elected leaders to get involved as well.

“On the campaign trail and throughout your One Oregon Listening Tour, you repeatedly state that you wanted to listen to communities and hear your constituents’ concerns,” McCarter, Gilson and McCaw added in the letter to Kotek. “As leaders of the most successful county ballot initiative movement in eastern Oregon history, we are ready to provide you with that opportunity.”

Those in favor of the movement argue that joining the Republican-leaning state of Idaho would benefit voters on the east side of the state who don’t believe their values are represented by Democratic leadership. Idaho has had Republican governors since 1995, while Oregon has had Democratic governors since 1987.

KOIN 6 has reached out to Kotek’s office for comment.