A movement calling itself New California is campaigning to split California in two, aiming to create the nation’s 51st state, Newsweek reported.

The effort is led by Paul Preston, a talk radio host on One Radio Network and president of the movement. Supporters argue that California has fallen under a “totalitarian one-party system” and insist the only remedy is to form a new state.

“We’re not secessionists,  we’re not trying to secede from the Union,” Preston told Newsweek. “We’re making a new state, growing the Union of states, so that we will become the 51st state of the Union.”

Breakaway vision

Preston said the group formally declared independence in 2018, citing decades of Democratic dominance. “We’re doing this because we think that we have a totalitarian government in California today, and have had for quite some time. That’s why a large group of people got together and declared independence back in 2018,” he explained.

Since then, supporters have staged weekly rallies outside Superior Court buildings across all 58 counties, reading grievances into the public record. “We’ve read 190 grievances into the public record on the Public Square, over 190 weeks’ worth of reading, every Tuesday … pleading our case and discussing what is the totalitarian nature, and why we feel we are living in tyranny,” Preston said.

Long-shot bid

Despite its ambitions, the campaign faces daunting odds. In modern US history, no citizen-led effort to split or secede from a state has succeeded. Similar initiatives in Texas, Puerto Rico, and California itself, including the 2018 “Calexit” push, have all reportedly faltered.

The group points to the example of West Virginia, which separated from Virginia during the Civil War and became a state in 1863. But that required both congressional approval and the extraordinary context of armed conflict, conditions unlikely to be repeated today.

Still, Preston insists momentum is building. “California is run by the Democratic Party, in a very large way by supermajorities in the legislature,” he said. “But the facts are, California is not a deep blue state.”

Claims of tyranny

According to Preston, California has effectively become a “tyranny” under Democratic control. Democrats dominate statewide offices, hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers, and control most of the state’s 52 congressional seats.

While California has reliably voted Democratic in presidential contests since 1992, the 2024 election saw a notable shift: the state swung 12 points toward Republicans compared with 2020. Democrats still won handily, but the change highlighted pockets of discontent.

Nonetheless, Preston argues, “California is a single one-party state.”

“It’s the equivalent of North Korea, Communist China, Cuba, Venezuela, California joins those ranks,” he stressed. He further emphasized that the state’s election system is “corrupt", citing Dominion and Smartmatic machines as tools that “select” rather than elect leaders. “In my opinion, based upon what we’ve seen, California is a deep red state. It is not a deep blue state,” he declared.

The group envisions New California as a Republican-leaning state that could contribute as many as 28 seats to the House of Representatives. Once admitted, Preston said, “they’ll give us 90 days to hold an election, to make sure that the elected officials are put in the proper place and then our contingent from Congress is put in place as well.”

'Constitutional convention’

Despite the steep odds, the movement has staged its own mock-government activities. On July 1, supporters convened a “constitutional convention” in Visalia. A month later, about 1,500 people turned out statewide to vote on proposed constitutional measures at polling places, including gun clubs and meeting halls.

The results were lopsided: a measure on combating “slavery” and child sex trafficking passed 1,415 to 5; one on protecting natural resources and opposing Governor Gavin Newsom’s “radical agenda” was approved 1,412 to 9; and a proposal to send the constitution to Congress in pursuit of statehood passed 1,391 to 29.

“All three measures were overwhelmingly passed statewide by the supporters of the movement,” Preston said.

Economic pitch

Preston has also advanced an economic plan to make the envisioned state viable. “California is deeply in debt,  I can’t emphasize this enough. They have no money. They’re deeply in debt to the trillions of dollars,” he argued.

California’s liabilities are among the highest in the nation. In 2022, the state carried roughly $498 billion in total obligations, with a debt ratio of about 106 percent, well above most states.

“They’ve brought us this financial wreck,” Preston said. “But we intend to fix it. We intend to make California a great state again.”

Part of his proposal involves constructing four new dams to cut electricity costs and generate revenue. “Right now, power in California costs around 34 cents per kilowatt hour. We plan to get that cost down to seven cents per kilowatt hour. We’ll sell power to California … that will help pay down their debt.”

Hoping for Trump’s backing

A key part of the movement’s strategy is to win support from US President Donald Trump. Preston said his team has been in contact with Trump allies.

“The Trump people contacted us and said they would carry it into Congress,” he claimed. Asked if Trump himself is on board, Preston replied, “I believe he is, yes. What keeps him in the limelight is he is a strict constitutionalist. Joe Biden did not honor the Constitution … and that has really plagued us badly and hurt communities.”

Preston added that he expects Trump to play a “key role” in advancing the plan once it reaches Washington. “We look forward to meeting with the president,” he said, noting that the group has already lobbied lawmakers in the capital.

Neither Trump nor the White House has reportedly publicly backed the proposal. 

What comes next

Despite the hurdles, Preston remains optimistic. Elected governor pro tempore of New California at the group’s eighth constitutional convention, he would serve as the state’s first governor if the plan succeeded.

The movement plans further internal elections later this year to finalize its constitution and legislative framework.

“We will be made a new state, in a very short period of time,” Preston declared. “It will happen. We are the only viable option to save the Union at this point.”

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