FAIRFAX, VA - NOVEMBER 07: Gov.-elect Ralph Northam (C) links arms with (L-R) current Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov.-elect Justin Fairfax, Attorney General-elect Mark Herring, and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) at an election night rally November 7, 2017 in Fairfax, Virginia. Northam defeated Republican candidate Ed Gillespie. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
West Virginia Republicans are calling for conservative counties in Virginia to leave and join West Virginia, 160 years after it seceded from Virginia.
Two bills in the West Virginia state legislature are advancing. One calls for the addition of new counties such as Frederick County in northwestern Virginia, while the other extends an invitation to all other counties who wish to secede.
Republican state Delegate Gary Howell described his bill in an interview with CNN, where he called it a way to “prevent civil war.”
The bill got more attention when West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. reminded Virginians that, under West Virginia law dating back to the creation of the state, “additional territory may be admitted into and become part of [West Virginia] state with the consent of the [Virginia] legislature.”
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
In the 2016 Election, the two states couldn’t be more different. President Donald Trump won with an overwhelming 68.6% of the vote over Hillary Clinton‘s 26.5% in West Virginia, while Clinton got 50.2% of the vote while Trump got 44.8% in Virginia.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam‘s office dismissed the efforts for secession as a political stunt aimed at helping Justice gain popularity ahead of a reelection year. “Sounds like it’s an election year in West Virginia,” said Alena Yarmosky, a spokeswoman for Northam.
Justice is up for reelection in 2020 and is facing challenges from both Republicans and Democrats.
Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn (R) has resigned from his position after he was federally…
Legal experts have claimed that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's promotion of Tesla stocks raises significant…
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) has proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to allow presidents to serve…
Following the clash between President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at an Oval…
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) introduced the Golden Age Act of 2025, a bill that would require Donald Trump's face…
The Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted Donald Trump a portrait of himself, which Putin commissioned. Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry…