1 in 4 Washingtonians want to secede from the US, survey finds

A quarter of Washingtonians would support the Evergreen State breaking up with the U.S., according to a new survey.

YouGov, an international research data and analytics group, logged replies from roughly 27,000 U.S. adults asked whether they’d back their state seceding from the country. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans replied that they would.

Although 25% of Washington respondents said they like the idea, just 7% of their neighbors in Idaho felt the same, the survey published Feb. 11 found.

Washington counted the second-highest rate of secession support in the U.S., tying with New Mexico and behind only California (27%).

Meanwhile, 24% of Texans surveyed said they’d like to ditch the nation — perhaps emblematic of a perennial “Texit” push for the state to become its own country once more. In both Minnesota and Maine, 23% of participants were in the pro-secession camp.

Researchers logged responses from 42 states with at least 100 participants, YouGov says; the other eight states were not included because fewer than 100 people answered the online survey.

In a previous YouGov poll from two years ago, when Democratic President Joe Biden was in the White House, Republicans were likelier than Democrats to want to secede. Now, more than a year into Republican President Donald Trump’s second term, the tables have turned.

The share of Americans wanting to secede has decreased, too — from 23% in 2024 to 18% this year — a drop that YouGov says is driven by Republicans. The amount of Washingtonians favoring secession ticked up slightly over the same time frame, from 24% two years ago to 25% today.

This year, 8% of Washington respondents said if their state were to secede, they’d like it to form its own independent country. Meanwhile, 23% said they’d like Washington to create a new nation with other states, while 31% replied they’d want it to join Canada.

Proposals to launch a 51st state called “Liberty” out of the more conservative eastern portion of Washington have cropped up from time to time, although such legislative pushes haven’t made headway in Olympia.

There’s also a slightly different approach floating around.

State Rep. Rob Chase, a Spokane Valley Republican, introduced a bill last year that instead aimed to divide the state into two “autonomous regions” — each with their own governors, judges and legislators — in an effort to give Eastern Washington residents “better representation,” a news release explains. House Bill 2085, which was reintroduced this session, did not receive a hearing.

This story was originally published February 16, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "1 in 4 Washingtonians want to secede from the US, survey finds."

Simone Carter

The Olympian

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