Posted on 02/17/2026 4:27:26 AM PST by DFG
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows has expressed his support for a New Mexico bill that could allow some Republican counties to join Texas. On February 16, Burrows endorsed New Mexico House Joint Resolution 10. If the bill passes, it would create a pathway for voters in three or more contiguous counties in New Mexico to secede.
“Texas would gladly welcome Lea County back to Texas, where it rightfully belongs,” Burrows posted on X. “Let the people of Lea County decide!”
Lea County sits in the southeastern-most corner of New Mexico, surrounded by Eddy County to the west and Texas to the east. Texas encompassed the region from its inception as a republic in 1836 until the federal government purchased the land in 1850.
Should the region return to Texas, Burrows suggested oil and gas producers would “welcome the change.”
Republican New Mexico state Reps. Randall Pettigrew and Jimmy Mason introduced HJR 10 on January 29. Per the Albuquerque Journal, Pettigrew is from Lovington in Lea County, and Mason is from Artesia in Eddy County.
If the bill passes, at least 15% of voters in three or more contiguous counties must sign a petition requesting a secession vote. This would trigger a special election, requiring two-thirds of the population’s support. Then, the county commissioners, the U.S. Congress, and the president would have to sign off.
“People up here want all the money,” Pettigrew said, according to the Albuquerque Journal. “They just want to spend it the way they want and they want to control oil and gas at the same time. It’s time to take the control away from them.”
Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh told the outlet he supported the bill, citing a “massive cultural disconnect” between the region and the state capital.
“Everything, I would argue, is almost diametrically opposed between the two cultures,” he said. “There’s no unity. There’s no respect for southeastern New Mexico.”
In the 2024 presidential election, then-Vice President Kamala Harris won Santa Fe County with 73.3%, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, now-President Donald Trump won rural Lea County with 80.1%.
Former Republican state Sen. Cliff Pirtle introduced a similar bill, Senate Joint Resolution 15, in 2021. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the bill ultimately died in committee.
Similar movements are growing across America.
In Eastern Oregon, across a mountain range from left-wing Portland, rural Republican counties are pushing to join neighboring Idaho. So far, 13 counties have passed measures on secession, while Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek has reportedly ignored organizers for more than 585 days.
In Southern Illinois, 33 counties have signaled support for joining Indiana. Rural Colorado counties have also proposed the idea several times in the past. The states’ large Democratic strongholds, however, have set heavy obstacles to changing boundaries.
Beto would have been a senator if he had just stayed in NM.
Dunno what good it would since I learned off FR that Texas maybe is going blue?
ping
As a Lincoln County resident of NM, right next door to Lea, I just ask the please take us with them.
Lea County is prime oil country and completely undeveloped compared to our Texas neighbor due to a hostile government.
In their dreams.
The state of Jefferson... de-annexation to all secession movements, including Alberta....
Nah, Texas is reliably red despite the doomsayers. Let’s give NM a chance.
A friend has a ranch in that part of NM. He can only access it by vehicle from Texas. I am positive he would rather be part of Texas.
33 of 102 counties in Illinois have voted to separate from that state. I wonder if there is a national scorecard on this.
Depends. I have a ranch that is cut up but part is in Texas and part is in NM.
Property taxes are much kinder in NM because Texas taxes rural communities massively to subsidize the black holes that are the Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio school systems.
“A friend has a ranch in that part of NM. He can only access it by vehicle from Texas. I am positive he would rather be part of Texas.”
During the Sun eclipse in NM I had a conversation with a couple of guys who have exactly what you describe. It was very interesting.
Literally the only thing that brings money to NM besides military bases and a bit of tourism is oil and gas. They’ll never let us go, even though they hate us.
It’s pretty Square ,LOL
How many seats would the democrats lose ?
We would be happy to get our territory back.
I hope they do it.
They say that every damn election cycle.
It old and worn hysteria
> “Texas would gladly welcome Lea County back to Texas, where it rightfully belongs,” Burrows posted on X. “Let the people of Lea County decide!”
Oh man that would make me Texan by birthplace.
It was always kinda difficult to tell it from West Texas anyway.
I don’t think it will help New Mexico Democrats from spiraling into destruction...
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