In the platform
Two planks carry it
State Sovereignty · Plank 20 (2024)
Texas keeps the right to govern itself, and to put independence to a vote of the people.
"Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto."
Texas Independence · Plank 203 (2024)
A referendum, so Texans and not Washington decide Texas's future.
"The Texas Legislature should pass a bill in its next session requiring a referendum in the next General Election for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation. This referendum should be a legislative priority."
The committee renumbers the planks every cycle. Find these two in this year's report and mark the numbers before the floor vote.
Why keep it now
Power changes hands. The right to decide shouldn't.
Right now, you like who is running Washington. That is the trap. The power you are cheering is on loan, none of it permanent, none of it yours. It goes to whoever wins the next election, pointed straight back at Texas the day they take it.
A people's right to govern itself is the one thing that does not flip with the next federal election. That is what these two planks protect.
Secure it while Texas is strong, not when Texas is desperate. We have the votes and the will right now. Lock it in, so Texas never again has to hope the right person wins a thousand miles away.
How far this has come
From two votes short to the party's position
- 2016At the Dallas convention, the platform committee approves an independence-referendum plank. Chair Tom Mechler swaps in new members, who strike it by two votes. On the floor, a standing vote that looks like a win is gaveled down without a count.
- 2020Delegates adopt a state sovereignty plank with 93% approval.
- 2022The platform calls for an independence referendum, passing with about 90% support, ahead of even border security. Newsrooms across the country cover it.
- 2024Delegates reaffirm both planks, again above 90%. Three conventions running.
- 2026Roughly 1.6 million Texans, about three in four Republican primary voters, cast a ballot for at least one Texas First Pledge signer, a candidate who has pledged to put Texas independence to a vote.
Three conventions deep, this is the stated position of the Republican Party of Texas. Keep it that way.
On the floor
What to do
- Be in your seat when the Platform Committee report comes up. That is the moment it is decided.
- Vote to keep both planks, strong and exactly as written.
- Speak for them out loud. This is the party's position, and it should sound like it.