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11:01 29.08.2025 •
Pic.: YouTube
The resolution, Assembly Joint Resolution 23, would call on the state Legislature to consent to the formation of the new state and urge Congress to agree — a step required under Article IV, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution. The resolution, however, is nonbinding and would not, by itself, split California, ‘The San Francisco Standard’ reports.
From Southern California’s 1850s secession attempt to the 1941 State of Jefferson movement to venture capitalist Tim Draper’s 2013 “Six Californias” plan to the 2018 collapsed “Cal 3” initiative and short-lived “New California” movement, Golden State partition schemes have a long track record of spectacular failure.
Members of the state GOP have come up with an all-new way to cleave California, which they plan to unveil. Under the diplomatically borrowed banner “Two State Solution,” their plan is sure to raise eyebrows.
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher is so annoyed about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting scheme, which will go before California voters this November, that he has rolled out a counter move: Cut the state in half.
Republican Assemblymember James Gallagher wants to create a state comprising 35 inland California counties.
Photo: Getty Images
Under the Two State Solution, outlined in a resolution filed late Tuesday, Gallagher urges the creation of a U.S. state comprising 35 inland California counties. He argues that the move is necessary because new congressional maps “silence rural voices and rig the political system forever.”
“The people of inland California have been overlooked for too long,” Gallagher said in a statement.
The resolution cites California’s size and uneven population distribution as barriers to equitable representation. It points to earlier break-up efforts — including an 1859 measure approved by voters that Congress never acted on — and recent expressions of interest from northern and inland counties. It also notes San Bernardino County’s 2022 measure to explore secession as part of a broader bid for “an equitable share of state funding and resources.”
If Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the state legislature, were by some black magic to pass the resolution, the Legislature’s declaration of consent would cover a swath of territory stretching across most of Northern California, the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley, and into the Inland Empire. The area would comprise more than 10 million people — enough to rank among the nation’s 10 most populous states, according to Gallagher’s office. The proposal says existing county and city boundaries would be preserved and argues that competition between the two state governments could yield more responsive services.
As for what the two new Californias might be called, Gallagher’s spokesperson said no names had been determined. The Standard came up with several suggestions: Kernucopia, OnlyFarms, or perhaps the simple and elegant Gilead.
Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta called the resolution a “stunt” doomed to fail, pointing to Democrats’ control of both state houses.
However, Republican voters’ support for the Two State Solution would hardly be a surprise, Acosta said. People understand secession at a “visceral” level, and reactions to creating a new state meant to better serve rural voters would be strongly received by the GOP's base.
Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom, dismissed Gallagher’s resolution, saying, “A person who seeks to split California does not deserve to hold office in the Golden State.” Richards said Gallagher’s assertion that the redistricting plan is permanent is false — it’s a temporary policy aimed at nullifying what Democrats are calling President Donald Trump’s “attempted power grab in Texas.”
Nick Miller, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, criticized the plan as hypocritical.
“Assembly Republicans say they oppose gerrymandering but just drew this joke of a map, a true James Gallamander," Miller said in an email.
Matt Rexroad, a consultant and redistricting expert, said Gallagher’s claim that rural counties are underserved is a “valid concern,” and the latest redistricting map approved by Newsom “slices up rural California.”
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