A new study that asked Americans whether they support dividing the country into regions found almost one-third of adults think it would be a good idea.
Conducted by the political science research project Bright Line Watch at Rochester University, the study found that 3 in 10 citizens (29 percent) said they’d support their state seceding from the union.
Pollsters said they were encouraged to ask the question due to national discord over the 2020 election.
“Until recently, we would have regarded it as too marginal to include in a survey. But state legislators in Mississippi and Texas and state GOP leaders in Texas and Wyoming have openly advocated secession in recent months, prompting us to design two survey items to gauge perceptions of this idea,” the researchers said.
Under this hypothetical, the United States would be split into five regions - Pacific, Mountain, Heartland, South, and Northeast.
Of the people surveyed who would live in the new Northeast region, 27 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of Independents liked the idea, while 34 percent of Democrats were on board.
Support for secession seems strongest in the theoretical south where 45 percent of Independents and 50 percent of Republicans would like to break away from the USA. Only 13 percent of Democrats in the area would support secession.
Republicans were more eager than Independents or Democrats to split with 1 in 3 Republicans saying they’d support their state leaving the U.S. Meanwhile, 21 percent of Democrats voiced the same opinion.
To read the full report, which includes more survey results on the 2020 election and impeachment, visit the study at brightlinewatch.org.
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