The man who led the effort to split California into two separate states has explained why the differences between liberals and conservatives are irreconcilable.
Paul Preston, a former school administrator, founded the New California State movement and has been trying for years to break away rural counties from ultra-left cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In contrast to Texas’ continued attempts to secede from the United States entirely, Preston wants his new version of California to remain in the union. His biggest problem lies with the state’s Democratic supermajorities.
“We recognized that we were in tyranny,” Preston said Fox News this week, citing Democrats’ overwhelming control of both chambers of the state Legislature.
California Democrats have a trifecta — or control of the state House, Senate and governorship — and a triplex, meaning the party holds the office of attorney general, secretary of state and the office of governor.
Preston said California is a “one-party system” that ignores the needs of its rural residents and compared the state to the communist regimes of North Korea, China, Cuba and Venezuela.
Preston said Democrats have failed on a number of issues, including the migrant crisis and the growing amount of fentanyl entering the state through the southern border.
The new map of California that Preston has proposed would include nearly all of California’s 58 counties and exclude most of Los Angeles County, parts of Sacramento County and parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Paul Preston (pictured) had for years led the effort to split California into two separate states
In the photo: The state of New California would have all the land in red. The original California is yellow and includes most of Los Angeles County, parts of Sacramento County, and parts of the San Francisco Bay Area
Preston told Fox News that the map is not yet final and does not reflect what the final boundaries of the proposed 51st state might look like.
Crucially, Preston’s rural California state would include San Diego and Imperial counties, both of which share a border with Mexico. This would, in theory, give the new state the ability to decide how to handle immigration in the future.
“I don’t think anyone is going to tell California that we are free from invasions and we are free from domestic violence,” he said, speaking of the migrant crisis and liberal reforms that critics believe have led to higher crime rates in the state. .
Notably, Preston and his New California State organization submitted an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in connection with an election fraud case filed by Raland J. Brunson.
In 2022, Brunson sued 388 government officials, including many members of the House of Representatives, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence, for failing to investigate alleged fraud in the 2020 election. The case has not been heard and requests for hearings have been repeatedly denied.
Although Preston’s idea for a more right-leaning California has been around for years, most government officials have not commented on it.
This could be because the process of actually forming a new state, as set out in the US Constitution, is quite difficult. Preston would need permission from the California Legislature and Congress, under the Constitution’s consent clause.
In addition to problems with crime and illegal immigration, California has seen the cost of living skyrocket and people have responded by leaving the state in droves.
Santa Barbara, another major city in California, would be part of the seceded state according to the boundaries drawn by Preston
There is an acute homelessness crisis in California. (Image: Homeless people living in tents in Los Angeles’ Skid Row)
There is also an acute homelessness crisis in the state. The number of people sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities has risen to about 180,000, despite the government spending billions of dollars on the problem.
James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the state Assembly, told Fox News he was unaware of Preston’s efforts in New California, but said, “I completely understand.”
“I understand the discussion,” he said. “I think maybe we should look into it. Maybe there should be two states.’
Gallagher, perhaps differing slightly from Preston, doesn’t believe the divide in California is necessarily about urban versus rural.
“It often feels like there are two separate states in California,” he said. “That heartland feels completely forgotten by Gavin Newsom and the Democrats with a supermajority. “All the policies coming out of Sacramento don’t really burden Democratic lawmakers.”
Gallagher pointed to California’s electric vehicle mandate that requires all new vehicles sold in the state after 2035 to meet zero-emission standards, which he said would hurt many rural residents.
Preston acknowledged how difficult it would be to secede from California, but he remains optimistic.
‘We have been very well received in Congress, even by the Democrats. It’s interesting that people who are starting to see what we’re doing are on board,” Preston said.