--- description: GOP delegates at Texas's Republican Party state convention will vote Friday on whether the state should secede from the U.S.A. title: Texas Republicans to Vote on Seceding From U.S image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03f37432b6db31d1/698893160a4a22eb519c9a5a/gettyimages-531023534-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Texas Republicans to Vote on Seceding From U.S  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 13, 2016 2:37 PM CUT  Delegates and attendees gather at the Republican Party of Texas State Convention at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, May 12, 2016. Delegates and attendees gather at the Republican Party of Texas State Convention at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, May 12, 2016.Rodger Mallison—Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 13, 2016 2:37 PM CUT GOP delegates at Texas’s Republican Party state [convention will vote Friday](http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Texas-GOP-to-debate-secession-on-convention-floor-7462082.php "undefined") on whether the state should [secede from the U.S.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/19/the-texas-secession-movement-is-getting-kind-of-serious/ "undefined"), after the idea passed a special platform committee on Wednesday. The motion is not expected to pass the convention, but it’s a major step forward for activists with the Texas Nationalist Movement, who have long been agitating for the Lone Star State to secede from the union. The group reported a 400% [increase](http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/12/04/texas-nationalist-movement-claims-membership-has-skyrocketed-400-percent "undefined") in membership after the 2012 election, and more than 100,000 people signed a Change.org petition to the [White House asking it to allow Texas’s secession](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/us/politics/texas-secession-movement-unbowed-by-white-house-rejection.html?%5Fr=1 "undefined"). Jon Carson, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, [responded](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/peacefully-grant-state-texas-withdraw-united-states-america-and-create-its-own-new "undefined") to the petition by citing the Supreme Court’s 1869 decision in [Texas v. White](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/74/700 "undefined"), which ruled “\[t\]he Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union composed of indestructible States.” “As much as we value a healthy debate, we don’t let that debate tear us apart,” Carson wrote. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4329172/texas-republicans-vote-secede-secession-texas-nationalist-movement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4329172/texas-republicans-vote-secede-secession-texas-nationalist-movement/"},"headline":"Texas Republicans to Vote on Seceding From U.S","datePublished":"2016-05-13T14:37:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:31:53.570Z","description":"The motion is not expected to pass","url":"https://time.com/4329172/texas-republicans-vote-secede-secession-texas-nationalist-movement/","keywords":["Texas","republicans","GOP","us"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03f37432b6db31d1/698893160a4a22eb519c9a5a/gettyimages-531023534-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03f37432b6db31d1/698893160a4a22eb519c9a5a/gettyimages-531023534-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican convention in Texas","caption":"Delegates and attendees gather at the Republican Party of Texas State Convention at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, May 12, 2016.","creditText":"Rodger Mallison—Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4329172/texas-republicans-vote-secede-secession-texas-nationalist-movement/","name":"Texas Republicans to Vote on Seceding From U.S"}}]}] ```