Donald Trump has a lot on his plate when he returns to the White House.
He got one of the most surprising messages of his political career.
And Donald Trump got one request about changing a state’s border that shocked him.
Rural Oregon counties want to secede and join conservative Idaho
Big cities dominate the rest of the West Coast state politically in many states across the country.
Portland, Oregon, is known for being one of the most left-wing cities in the entire United States.
The Portland metro area cements Oregon as a blue state and allows Democrats to control the State Legislature and Governor’s Mansion.
Conservatives in rural Oregon are frustrated because they have no say in how their state is run and Democrats are out-of-touch with issues outside cities.
The Greater Idaho Movement was launched by a group of conservative counties in rural Oregon to secede and join the red state of Idaho.
13 counties in Oregon have voted to join Idaho as part of the movement.
More than half of the counties that make up the eastern part of the state are ready to jump ship.
But the Greater Idaho Movement faces an uphill battle to leave Oregon and become a part of Idaho.
Donald Trump asked to help redraw state’s boundaries
Leaving one state to join another is a politically difficult process.
That’s why the Greater Idaho Movement sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking to meet with him.
“We need help from your administration to make this happen. The people here overwhelmingly voted for you,” the letter states. “We humbly ask you for your support in helping Eastern Oregonians achieve what the people have said they want, and that’s to join Idaho.”
The rural Oregon counties face an uphill battle in joining Idaho.
Oregon and Idaho’s state legislature would have to approve the secession and Congress would have to sign off on it.
“We have a new Congress coming in. We have a new administration. We see this as an opportunity to move this to a national level and get this done,” Greater Idaho Movement executive director Matt McCaw told the New York Sun. “This solves a problem. It gets better government for 400,000 people. It lowers political tension, and it’s an idea that’s popular.”
Trump won the Oregon counties that have voted to secede with almost 70% of the vote.
Oregon’s state government hasn’t shown any support for the rural counties leaving to join Idaho.
“It’s become clear to the people of eastern Oregon that our own state government is not going to listen to us and enact what we’ve voted for, which is moving the border,” McCaw said in a statement. “But we believe that President Trump, whom the people here overwhelmingly voted for, can help us achieve the self-determination we have a right to by bringing attention and support to our cause.”
Frustration has boiled over among rural Oregonians that they have no say in the direction of their state.
“The tension doesn’t come from Portland having different values from eastern Oregon. The tension comes from Portland values being forced on eastern Oregon because of the state government,” McCaw explained.
Succession movements have sprouted up around the country including a group of rural counties in Virginia trying to join West Virginia.
Conservatives stuck under the thumb of big-city Democrats are getting creative to solve their political problems.