How Americans Feel About Texas Independence

Nearly 30 percent of Americans would support Texas leaving the United States and becoming an independent republic, according to a new poll conducted exclusively for Newsweek.

According to the Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey of 1,500 eligible voters across the U.S., 13 percent of the American population would "strongly support" Texas "seceding from the United States and becoming independent" with another 14 percent for "support."

By contrast, 22 percent said they would be "strongly opposed" with another 14 percent for "opposed," with 24 percent saying they "neither support nor oppose" the proposition and 13 percent for "don't know." The poll was conducted online on 18 and 19 February and has a margin of error of 2.5 percent.

Tensions between Texan authorities and the federal government in recent weeks have sparked renewed interest in whether the Lone Star State could leave the American Union and become a fully independent state. On January 22, the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could dismantle razor wire placed along the Texas-Mexico border on the orders of the state's Governor Greg Abbott. This triggered a furious response from Abbott who claimed Texas was being subject to an "invasion" and invoked its "constitutional authority to defend and protect itself."

In a statement responding to the Supreme Court ruling the Texas Nationalist Movement, which campaigns for Texan independence, urged Abbott to "call an immediate special session to explore Texas independence."

The Redfield & Wilton survey also found that 27 percent of Americans would support California leaving the Union and becoming independent, against 37 percent who said they were actively opposed. The figures for other states were noticeably lower with only 22 percent and 19 percent of Americans respectively thinking Mississippi and New Hampshire should become their own countries.

However, the polling did found a plurality of Americans believe a state "should be allowed to secede from the United States if a majority of its voters vote for secession," with 33 percent of voters either strongly agreeing or agreeing with the statement, against 29 percent who were actively opposed. Another 25 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement whilst 13 percent said they didn't know.

A separate Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey of 814 eligible voters in Texas, conducted between February 1 and 3 for Newsweek, found 23 percent would vote for the state to become fully independent in a hypothetical independence referendum. However, 67 backed remaining part of the American Union and 10 percent answered "don't know."

Speaking to Newsweek Professor Matt Qvortrup, author of I Want to Break Free: A Practical Guide to Making a New Country, said this result indicated the Texas independence movement should be taken seriously.

Referring to Texan independence as Texit, a play on Brexit, he said: "In Catalonia, Quebec, and in Scotland, support for independence was in the twenties when the issue was first discussed. This has in all cases moved within touching distance of independence. The polls may seem disheartening to those who believe that Texit is imminent. But these percentages should worry those who—like Governor Abbott—who are against 'Texit.'"

The February 1-3 survey also found the ongoing migrant crisis made 44 percent of Texans more likely to back independence versus 16 percent who said it made them less likely to support this, with the remainder either saying it made no difference or that they were unsure.