Is it finally happening?
Advocates supporting Texas’ separation from the United States believe they are on the brink of achieving a significant milestone.
The executive committee of the Texas Republican Party is scheduled to vote during the weekend to determine the ballot propositions for the Republican primary elections in March 2024. One proposition seeks to gauge Republican voters’ opinion on whether the State of Texas should reaffirm its status as an independent nation.
Ahead of the vote, the Texas Nationalist Movement, an organization advocating for Texas’ independence, cautioned the GOP that they have amassed enough signatures to compel a vote on the question of endorsing secession.
Despite the absence of any provision in the U.S. Constitution allowing a state to secede, Texas nationalists have persistently advocated for a referendum on secession. The state initially seceded from Mexico in 1836, operated independently for nine years, and later joined the U.S. It also seceded from the Union in 1861 but was readmitted after the Civil War in 1870.
In a letter, the Texas Nationalist Movement explained their petition campaign under Texas Election Code 172.088, enabling voters to petition for a question on a party’s primary ballot. By gathering 97,709 signatures before the December 11, 2023 deadline, they aimed to bypass the party’s ballot proposition process.
If the secession question appears on the primary ballot and garners support, it holds no legal binding, signifying Texas’ actual separation from the U.S. Nonetheless, it would mark a significant triumph for secession advocates, viewed by critics as a fringe belief facing considerable obstacles in a general election.
The organization clarified that the question would be “advisory only,” providing Republican voters an opportunity to express their views on the state’s potential independence.
While acknowledging that the party’s inclusion of the question doesn’t endorse a specific outcome, the organization argued that it supports the principle that diverse perspectives within the party merit consideration.
The letter emphasized that putting the question on the ballot brings clarity, challenging detractors who consider it a fringe issue. It suggests that if the claim holds true, the results will reflect it, and the matter will likely lose traction within the party for a generation.
This renewed push for a secession vote coincides with a significant political shift in Texas. Once reliably Republican, the state’s cities and suburbs have leaned towards Democrats in recent elections. The Democratic momentum has raised questions about the state’s political future, leading to increased infighting within the state GOP as their margins continue to diminish.