Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher proposed splitting California into two states, assigning 35 rural or conservative inland counties to a separate state. The proposed new state would cover most of Northern California, the Sierra Nevada, the Central Valley and the Inland Empire, including San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The new state would contain more than 10 million residents—about 10.5 million—placing it among the nation's top ten most populous states. The 35 counties would represent over half of California's counties but only a bit over a quarter of the state's population. The proposal surfaced amid partisan redistricting disputes ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Secession. That word has come up time and again in California politics. And the latest person to pitch the idea is Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, who on Wednesday, Aug. 27, floated the idea however unlikely of having the Golden State's 35 more rural or conservative inland counties break away from its generally more liberal coastal communities to form its own state.
Gallagher's so-called two-state solution is a long-shot proposal that comes amid California Democrats' attempt to pass new partisan congressional maps to favor their own party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections a response to similar gerrymandering efforts by Texas Republicans. The proposed new congressional maps, if approved by California voters in a special November election, would apply only to the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.
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