Thomas Elias: For every action, says one principle of both physics and politics, there is a reaction. So when President Donald Trump threatened to put conditions on disaster aid in the wake of California’s unprecedented January firestorms, there was a reaction.
Alan Riquelmy: A poll released this month and commissioned by the Independent California Institute — which stated that its first principle is for California to become a “fully functioning sovereign and autonomous nation” — offers some support for secessionists.
According to the poll, 61% of respondents said the state would be better off if it peacefully seceded, and 63% supported using “hardball” tactics to gain autonomy.
Joe Mathews: The flames that leveled Pacific Palisades and Malibu are believed to have started in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service. (That’s you!).
The blaze that turned Altadena to ash burned through the Angeles National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the United States (you again!) Department of Agriculture.
The Independent California Institute released a new poll purporting that more than 60% of Californians agree that they “would be better off California if peacefully seceded from the U.S. at some point in the next 10 years.”
Carlsbad, CA: 61% of Californians said they would be better off California if peacefully seceded from the U.S. at some point in the next ten years, in a poll conducted in the weeks before Inauguration Day. This is the highest favorability towards secession ever recorded in a California poll.
Legendary California reporter Dan Walters covers our poll for CalMatters:
The transcontinental sniping raises an old question: Could California sever ties with the United States and once again become an independent country? The San Diego County-based Independent California Institute thinks so.
Check out our new podcast, California Centric. It’s hosted by our chair, Jeanne Rosenmeier, and long-time board member Tim Vollmer. You can find us on “Subscribe to the California Centric podcast!”
A very simple fact sheet with highlights from the January 2025 Independent California Poll. Perfect for printing and distributing at rallies, farmer’s markets, and other “Poll fact sheet: YOU ARE NOT ALONE”
Carlsbad, CA: 61% of Californians said they would be better off California if peacefully seceded from the U.S. at some point in the next ten years, in a poll conducted in the weeks before Inauguration Day. This is the highest favorability towards secession ever recorded in a California poll.
Highlights: 61% of Californians polled say California would be better off if it peacefully seceded. 77% say California should control its state borders “more like a country”. 63% support using hardball tactics in the U.S. House to gain autonomy. Californians now feel more Californian than American overall.
Please submit press inquiries to press@ic.institute.
