Independence campaigners have hailed "a revolution in Texas politics" after 10 Republicans who have committed to supporting a referendum on secession from the United States were elected to the state legislature.
According to the secessionist Texas Nationalist Movement, the 10 politicians, all of whom won seats in the Texas House of Representatives, were signatories to its "Texas First Pledge." Signatories of the pledge have vowed to "vote for legislation and resolutions to call for a vote on Texas reasserting its status as an independent nation" and to "work toward a fair and expedient separation of Texas from the federal government" if this referendum is won.
Texas nationalists wish to take the Lone Star State out of the union and create a fully independent country. Before joining the United States, the Republic of Texas existed as an independent nation from 1836 to 1846. A poll of 814 eligible Texan voters conducted earlier this year for Newsweek found that 33 percent supported secession, while 39 percent were opposed, with the remainder either neutral or unsure. However, in a hypothetical referendum, 67 percent said they would vote for Texas to remain a state within the United States.
On Wednesday, in a statement released on Facebook, the TNM said: "The establishment said it couldn't be done. Last night, Texas First champions DOMINATED races across the Lone Star State!
"The voice of Texas independence just got a whole lot louder. From the halls of the Legislature to local courthouses, supporters of the Texas First Pledge secured victories that will reshape our state's political landscape."
"This isn't just a victory—it's a revolution in Texas politics," it added. "The old guard's lies about supporting a TEXIT vote making a candidate 'unelectable' were shattered last night."
In March 2023, a Republican state representative introduced the Texas Independence Referendum Act to the Texas House, calling for a referendum on "whether or not the state should investigate the possibility of Texas independence." The legislation failed to pass the committee stage.
Speaking to Newsweek, TNM President Daniel Miller said he expected similar legislation to be proposed by one of the lawmakers elected on Tuesday who signed the Texas First Pledge.
"This next session will likely see the Texas Independence Referendum Act filed again," he said. "However, we'll be advocating for and working with legislators on a whole host of policy initiatives involving the border, currency and more. All of this is because the closer we can move Texas to structurally and operationally functioning like an independent nation, the easier separation becomes once we get and win the TEXIT referendum."
Miller added that this was part of a process in which the TNM sought "political, cultural, and economic independence" for Texas.
"This means that while we work to get and win a referendum on independence, we also work on policy initiatives that move Texas closer to independence. Strategically, anything that closes the gap between where we are and Texas being a fully self-governing independent nation is part of the TEXIT process," he said.
According to the TNM, the 10 Texas First Pledge signatories elected on Tuesday were David Lowe in House District 91, Shelley Luther in District 62, Keresa Richardson in District 61, Brent Money in District 2, A.J. Louderback in District 30, Wesley Virdell in District 53, Janis Holt in District 18, Andy Hopper in District 64, Steve Toth in District 15 and Mitch Little in District 65.
Earlier this year, Joshua Blank, the research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, told Newsweek he doubted Texan independence could be achieved peacefully.
He said: "I think history has made clear that there is no plausible scenario in which Texas could peacefully extract itself from the United States, even were that the will of its populous—which there is no indication of to my knowledge."
English (US) ·