Half of Texas Republicans favor secession

Who needs this whole "United States" thing, anyway?

Published April 23, 2009 7:15PM (EDT)

On its own, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's endorsement of the idea of secession just sounded crazy. But a new poll suggests the governor knows his constituents, and what he'll have to do in order to win a Republican primary against likely challenger Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

A survey conducted by Research 2000 -- and commissioned by Daily Kos -- shows that 48 percent of Texas Republicans think their state would be better off as an independent nation than it is as part of the U.S. The same number disagreed. And 51 percent of them approve of Perry's comments, compared to 44 percent who disapprove.

Overall, secession fever isn't nearly so high. 61 percent of total respondents think Texas is better off as part of the U.S., compared to 35 percent who think it would do better if it were independent, and 58 percent disapproved of what Perry said, while 37 percent approved.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

MORE FROM Alex Koppelman


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Texas War Room