From Southern California’s 1850s secession attempt to the 1941 State of Jefferson movement to venture capitalist Tim Draper's "Six Californias" plan in 2013 to the collapsed "Cal 3" initiative in 2018 to the short-lived "New California" movement the same year, Golden State partition schemes have a long track record of spectacular failure.
To which today's Republicans respond: Hold my beer.
Members of the state GOP have come up with an all-new way to cleave California, which they plan to unveil on Wednesday. Under the diplomatically borrowed banner of the "Two State Solution," their new plan is sure to raise a few eyebrows, especially from anyone who's ever read a headline about the peace-loving lands of the Middle East.
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher is so annoyed about Governor Gavin Newsom's new redistricting scheme, which will go before California voters this November, that he has rolled out his own novel counter move: Cut the state in half.
Under the “Two State Solution,” outlined in a resolution filed late Tuesday, Gallagher is urging for the creation of a new U.S. state made up of 35 inland California counties, arguing that the new Congressional maps “silence rural voices and rig the political system forever.”
The resolution, Assembly Joint Resolution 23, would call on the state legislature to consent to the formation of the new state and urge Congress to agree — a step required under Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution. The resolution. however, is nonbinding and would not, by itself, split California.
“The people of inland California have been overlooked for too long,” Gallagher said in a press release, framing the push as a response to what he described as Sacramento’s attempt to permanently redraw congressional maps in ways that would “silence rural voices and rig the political system forever.”
Gallagher’s proposal will be announced at a Capitol press conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Sacramento.
The resolution cites California’s size and uneven population distribution as barriers to equitable representation. It points to earlier break-up efforts — including an 1859 measure approved by voters that Congress never acted on — and recent expressions of interest from northern and inland counties. It also notes San Bernardino County’s 2022 measure to explore secession as part of a broader bid for “an equitable share of state funding and resources.”
If Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the state legislature, were by some black magic to pass the resolution, the Legislature’s declaration of consent would cover a swath of territory stretching across most of Northern California, the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley, and into the Inland Empire, comprising more than 10 million people — enough to rank among the nation’s 10 most populous states, according to Gallagher’s office. The proposal says existing county and city boundaries would be preserved and argues that competition between the two state governments could yield more responsive services.
As for what the two new Californias might be called, Gallagher's spokesperson said no names had been determined. The Standard came up with several suggestions: Kernucopia, OnlyFarms, or perhaps the simple and elegant Gilead.
Replies to an X post showing a map of the planned split were mixed.
“Yes please!!! Let the liberals have their high crime dirty feces filled streets and conservatives will have their nice safe clean counties. I really hope this takes off!,” wrote X user Jessie J.
“TrumpTrash gonna TrumpTrash. They can just move to Idaho FFS,” wrote X user FriscoKidd.
Democratic political consultant Andrew Acosta called the resolution a “stunt” doomed to fail, pointing to Democrats' control of both houses at the state level.
However, Republican voters' support for the Two State Solution would hardly be a surprise, Accosta said. People understand secession at a “visceral” level, and reactions to creating a new state meant to better serve rural voters interests would be strongly received by the GOP's base.
Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom, also dismissed Gallagher’s resolution, saying “A person who seeks to split California does not deserve to hold office in the Golden State.” Richards said Gallagher’s assertion that the ongoing redistricting plan is permanent is false, as it’s a temporary policy aimed at nullifying what Democrats are calling, “Trump’s attempted power grab in Texas.”
Matt Rexroad, a political consultant and redistricting expert, said Gallagher’s criticism that rural counties are underserved is a “valid concern,” and that the latest redistricting map approved by Newsom “slices up rural California.”
Like Acosta, however, Rexroad admitted that the resolution will never gain traction.
“Gallagher is aware of the political reality,” Rexroad said. “The resolution will never pass.”