Poll: Almost 1 in 4 Americans open to secession

Scotland voted on Thursday not to secede from the United Kingdom, but a Reuters poll finds that almost one in four Americans support their state seceding from the United States. 

The poll finds that 24 percent of Americans either strongly support or tend to support their state breaking away from the union. It was conducted Aug. 23 to Sept. 16, meaning it occurred before the Scotland vote. 

{mosads}Republicans were more supportive of the idea than Democrats, at 30 percent to 21 percent. 

The Southwest, which for the purposes of the poll included Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, was the most likely to support secession, at 34 percent. The “Southeast,” which included most of the states that actually did secede before the Civil War, had 25 percent support for the idea.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) drew attention in 2009 for saying: “We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot.”

After President Obama won reelection in 2012, a petition was filed with the White House to allow Texas to peacefully secede from the union. It has 125,746 signatures, though Perry said he does not support it.

The petition reached enough signatures to earn a White House response.

“As much as we value a healthy debate, we don’t let that debate tear us apart,” wrote then-White House Director of Public Engagement Jon Carson.