The writer is a contributing columnist, based in Chicago
In some parts of my home state of Illinois, November’s election was about more than who runs the country. It was a resounding vote of no confidence in the state of democracy in rural America — at least as it operates in the Democrat-dominated state. Seven mostly Republican counties here voted last November to consider splitting off from their state, bringing to 33 the number that have voted to investigate leaving Illinois — almost a third of the total.
In California, secession campaigners recently got permission to gather signatures, hoping to ask voters in 2028 whether their state should leave the US altogether. According to a YouGov poll last year, 23 per cent of Americans said they would support their state seceding from the US, with the most pro-secession states a mix of Democratic ones such as California and New York, and Republican states like Texas.