Maxwell School News, Research and Media Coverage

A new YouGov poll found that while overall support for secession decreased nationally from 23 percent in 2024 to 18 percent in 2026, nine states saw increases in secession support, with Connecticut showing the largest jump (from 9 percent to 22 percent) and Minnesota rising to 23 percent from 13 percent. California has the highest support for secession at 29 percent, while states like Oklahoma, Nebraska and Idaho saw the largest decreases in support.

“There is a growing interest in secession, or what some refer to as a national divorce between Red and Blue America. There is a developing literature on this topic, and one Axios poll found that 20% of Americans support a national divorce,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science and author of The Disunited States: Threats of Secession in Red and Blue America and Why They Won't Work (Oxford University Press, 2025).

“The key factor driving this interest in secession is polarization. Whether it is the Red-State secessionists, the BlueExiters, the California Independence Party or the Texas Nationalists, they all point to unstoppable polarization and political dysfunction as the reason secession is necessary. They have lost faith in the American political system,” says Griffiths.

Read more in the Newsweek article, “Map Shows States Where Support for Seceding from US is Rising.”

A new YouGov poll found that while overall support for secession decreased nationally from 23 percent in 2024 to 18 percent in 2026, nine states saw increases in secession support, with Connecticut showing the largest jump (from 9 percent to 22 percent) and Minnesota rising to 23 percent from 13 percent. California has the highest support for secession at 29 percent, while states like Oklahoma, Nebraska and Idaho saw the largest decreases in support.

“There is a growing interest in secession, or what some refer to as a national divorce between Red and Blue America. There is a developing literature on this topic, and one Axios poll found that 20% of Americans support a national divorce,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science and author of The Disunited States: Threats of Secession in Red and Blue America and Why They Won't Work (Oxford University Press, 2025).

“The key factor driving this interest in secession is polarization. Whether it is the Red-State secessionists, the BlueExiters, the California Independence Party or the Texas Nationalists, they all point to unstoppable polarization and political dysfunction as the reason secession is necessary. They have lost faith in the American political system,” says Griffiths.

Read more in the Newsweek article, “Map Shows States Where Support for Seceding from US is Rising.”

A new YouGov poll found that while overall support for secession decreased nationally from 23 percent in 2024 to 18 percent in 2026, nine states saw increases in secession support, with Connecticut showing the largest jump (from 9 percent to 22 percent) and Minnesota rising to 23 percent from 13 percent. California has the highest support for secession at 29 percent, while states like Oklahoma, Nebraska and Idaho saw the largest decreases in support.

“There is a growing interest in secession, or what some refer to as a national divorce between Red and Blue America. There is a developing literature on this topic, and one Axios poll found that 20% of Americans support a national divorce,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science and author of The Disunited States: Threats of Secession in Red and Blue America and Why They Won't Work (Oxford University Press, 2025).

“The key factor driving this interest in secession is polarization. Whether it is the Red-State secessionists, the BlueExiters, the California Independence Party or the Texas Nationalists, they all point to unstoppable polarization and political dysfunction as the reason secession is necessary. They have lost faith in the American political system,” says Griffiths.

Read more in the Newsweek article, “Map Shows States Where Support for Seceding from US is Rising.”

A new YouGov poll found that while overall support for secession decreased nationally from 23 percent in 2024 to 18 percent in 2026, nine states saw increases in secession support, with Connecticut showing the largest jump (from 9 percent to 22 percent) and Minnesota rising to 23 percent from 13 percent. California has the highest support for secession at 29 percent, while states like Oklahoma, Nebraska and Idaho saw the largest decreases in support.

“There is a growing interest in secession, or what some refer to as a national divorce between Red and Blue America. There is a developing literature on this topic, and one Axios poll found that 20% of Americans support a national divorce,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science and author of The Disunited States: Threats of Secession in Red and Blue America and Why They Won't Work (Oxford University Press, 2025).

“The key factor driving this interest in secession is polarization. Whether it is the Red-State secessionists, the BlueExiters, the California Independence Party or the Texas Nationalists, they all point to unstoppable polarization and political dysfunction as the reason secession is necessary. They have lost faith in the American political system,” says Griffiths.

Read more in the Newsweek article, “Map Shows States Where Support for Seceding from US is Rising.”