First, there was the Brexit, then there was Mr. Brexit (Donald Trump), and now there is talk about an ORexit and Calexit. Basically, some people in Oregon and California believe that the nation's interests do not match their own.
Instead of claiming they will move to Canada after Trump's win, some Oregonians and Californians want to branch off and make their home what they want it to be. Even though the secession seems somewhat good in theory, there are serious consequences to leaving the union. By the time these states would be able to successfully secede, the next election would be happening. Obviously, this isn't a quick way to deal with a Trump presidency.
After seemingly every presidential election, people have considered taking their state out of the union. For instance, residents in all 50 states filed petitions to secede from the United States through the We the People online petition tool after the presidential election in 2012. It's a strong reaction to the uncertainty of how the future will unfold in the time of a new president.
Even though these plans are controversial and seemingly unrealistic, here is a list of succession variations that people have come up with.
1. Only California
The Yes California Independence Campaign calls for Californians to vote in 2018 to have a special election to vote on the state's independence from the United States. In the spring of 2019, the state would decide by referendum if California should exit the union. The campaign organizers claim that the state has the 6th largest economy in the world and that they are hurting themselves while subsidizing other states.
2. Only Oregon
Two Oregonians proposed a ballot measure on Nov. 10 asking for the state to secede from the United States. Once the peaceful protests turned violent in Portland, the group withdrew their measure. They didn't like the public's response to the measure and thought the idea of seceding was no longer appropriate for the current political landscape.
3. Cascadia
The CascadiaNow! group claims that Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Southern Alaska, Western Montana, Idaho, and Northern California make up a bio-region that is environmentally, economically, and culturally distinct from other regions of North America. While the group has been active since 2006, people have gained interest in the idea of separating Cascadia from the rest of the United States after Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
4. West Coast
After the election, some news sources have talked about the idea of the entire West Coast forming its own nation. Nevada, Alaska, and Hawaii could be included if they wanted to be. No actual proposals have been made to pursue this idea, even though it is interesting to talk about.
5. Idaho Takes Eastern Washington and Oregon
In 2015, Ken Parsons, a farmer from La Grande, Ore., proposed the idea of giving eastern Oregon and Washington to Idaho. The majority of these areas is rural, so they would have common needs and political ideas.
From looking at the map results of the 2016 election, eastern Oregon and Washington were covered in red. In addition, the majority of voters in rural parts of northern and central California voted for Trump. From this information, it is obvious that rural areas of the west coast would be against leaving the United States because of the new president.
While it is exciting to think about what life would be like in a new country, it would be unlikely that anything would happen anytime soon. Anyways, the United States needs people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds for it to prosper.
