These frustrated Oregon Republicans are determined to become part of Idaho

For many years, Oregon has been a source of frustration for GOP strategists.

The last Republican to carry Oregon in a presidential election was Ronald Reagan in 1984. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, lost California to President George H.W. Bush in 1988, but he won Oregon.

Western Oregon, especially Portland, leans liberal. But rural areas of Eastern Oregon near Idaho are more conservative. And Republicans in the Greater Idaho Movement have an idea: remove those areas from Oregon and move them into Idaho.

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In a report published by the Washington Post on September 15, journalist Scott Wilson stresses that doing so would be "no small task."

"Both the Oregon and Idaho state legislatures, which are controlled by Democrats and Republicans respectively, would have to approve a border shift, which in this case, would be the most significant geographically since western states began forming in the mid-19th Century," Wilson explains. "The issue would then go to the U.S. Congress. But, as more than two dozen interviews across the state made clear, there is momentum behind the cause among a lightly populated region of ranch land, swift rivers, and vast pine forests."

The Greater Idaho Movement, according to Wilson, "envisions 14 full counties joining Idaho, along with parts of others." Wilson describes the "political contrast" between Oregon and Idaho as "stark."

"Oregon Democrats have a more than 30 percent edge in voter registration over Republicans, and Joe Biden won the state by 16 percentage points in 2020," Wilson explains. "Idaho offers a mirror image: Republican voters outnumber Democrats more than 5 to 1, and Donald Trump defeated Biden by 30 percentage points. Both states have sent two senators from the same party to Washington — Democrats in Oregon, Republicans in Idaho."

READ MORE:Idaho GOP launch 'long shot' effort to absorb eastern Oregon counties: Portland runs 'everything there'

The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required).