Yuba and Sutter counties vote in support of California GOP 'two-state solution'

Lauren Chapman, The Sacramento Bee on May 26, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Yuba and Sutter county boards of supervisors voted Tuesday to support California Republicans’ push to split the state into two.

The “two-state solution” was originally pitched in August by Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, in response to California’s redistricting measure’s Proposition 50.

Gallagher’s proposal — Assembly Joint Resolution 23 — has little chance of moving forward in the Legislature as Democrats maintain a supermajority in both chambers.

Here’s what to know:

—On Tuesday, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors voted on a resolution in support of Gallagher’s proposal. It passed unanimously, though Supervisor Gary Bradford was absent.

—The Sutter County Board of Supervisors passed their own resolution unanimously on May 26 in support of Gallagher’s proposal. Supervisor Mike Ziegenmeyer said “California’s not a one-size fits all” and the proposal addressed his concerns about spending transparency from state government. “I respect other places, other cities, other counties — but we just have a way of doing things here,” Ziegenmeyer said.

—The map accompanying Gallagher’s resolution corrals the state’s population centers — like the Bay Area, San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento — into one state. Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yuba counties would be siphoned into one state.

—There have been 220 previous attempts to break up California, according to the state library, including one that predated the state’s founding in 1850. The State of Jefferson, a secessionist movement to group the North State with several Southern Oregon counties, could have been successful were it not for the outbreak of World War II, Gallagher said.

—In August, Newsom’s office dismissed Gallagher’s resolution as a “stunt that will go nowhere,” and said “a person who seeks to split California does not deserve to hold office in the Golden State.”

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