Three Maryland Counties Ask To Secede From The State To Join West Virginia

The three westernmost counties of Maryland want to secede from the state to join West Virginia. The counties of Garrett, Allegany and Washington say they are fed up with their overwhelmingly liberal other counties of the state.

“We believe this agreement may be mutually beneficial for both states and for our local constituencies,” the counties wrote in a letter to West Virginia’s governor.

Since all three counties supported former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election even as President Joe Biden won the state by a wide margin.

The Constitution says that new configurations of states must be formed with the consent of the affected states and Congress. That means these three counties would need the approval of the Maryland legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, the West Virginia legislature, controlled by Republicans, and Congress where Democrats have a slight majority. Experts agree that state and national Democrats would ever agree to give up the counties.