A clear majority of Republicans in the South are now in favor of seceding from the United States and forming a different country, according to a new poll. This undated file photo shows a Confederate cap and flag from the US Civil War. (Photo by Getty Images)
Washington, July 17 (RHC)-- About two-thirds of Republicans in over a dozen Southern U.S. states have said they support breaking away from the United States and establishing their own country with neighboring states, while almost half of Democrats on the West Coast said they would do the same.
Some 66 percent of Republicans in 13 Southern states including Texas and Florida are in favor of separating from the union, according to a recent poll conducted by Bright Line Watch, Newsweek reported.
Half of all independents in the South also want to secede from the union while only 20 percent of Southern Democrats said they would support secession. About 47 percent Democrats in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii support forming a breakaway country. One-third of West Coast independents were in favor of secession, along with 27 percent of West Coast Republicans.
In 13 Midwest states, support for breaking away from the union was highest among independents, where 43 percent of whom wanted to secede. In Northeastern states, 39 percent of Democrats were in favor of leaving the US and forming their own country, while 43 percent of Republicans in states near the Rocky Mountains said the same.
Support for a separate country has increased significantly across the board since the same question was asked in a poll from February, when 50 percent of Southern Republicans wanted to form their own country. A 6 percent increase in support for secession also happened among West Coast Democrats.
Data analyst Christopher Ingraham called the poll results the "most disturbing datapoint" he had recently seen. He pointed out that many of those who want secession may be expressing support to indicate partisan loyalties rather than support for a potential new Civil War.
"It probably makes sense to read these results more as statements of political identity (e.g., 'I'm a proud Southerner and I don't like Joe Biden!') than as signs of actual intent," Ingraham wrote. "Nevertheless, the sheer number of Americans — particularly Republicans and Independents in the South — willing to turn 'blow the whole thing up' into a signal of partisan loyalty is troubling," he added.
Polling firm YouGov surveyed 2,750 U.S. adults, while a sample of 327 political science experts also participated in the poll which was conducted between June 26th and July 2nd.
