By James Bickerton
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Texas independence campaigners posted on social media that they are targeting the ongoing Republican Party of Texas Convention in San Antonio and "taking over" the event.
On Thursday, the secessionist Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) shared photographs on X, formerly Twitter, of its supporters holding up signs reading "TEXIT NOW!" inside the convention center. Nate Smith, the group's executive vice president, also delivered an address to attendees.
"Texit" is a shorthand term for Texas independence used by some of the idea's supporters, based on "Brexit," used during the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.
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The TNM is campaigning for a referendum on whether the Lone Star State should leave the American Union and become a fully independent nation. Earlier this year, the group claimed it gathered a 139,456-signature petition calling for the state GOP to include this question on its March primary ballot. The party rejected it, claiming that "the vast majority of petition signatures were invalid."
The TNM shared a photo on Facebook of at least 16 of its pro-independence signs being held up in the convention center, writing: "The TNM is taking over the Republican Party of Texas Convention. We are here and we are making an IMPACT to ensure the RPT listens to the will of the voters who want TEXIT now!"
The convention began on Thursday and is scheduled to end on Saturday.
The group said on its official website: "TNM leaders actively engaged with delegates and attendees throughout the convention, presenting a meticulously structured case for TEXIT. They outlined numerous benefits of independence, such as economic prosperity, self-governance, and tailored policies that meet Texans' unique needs.
"This strategic engagement was crucial, aiming to educate and persuade key decision-makers within the Republican Party to endorse a referendum on Texas independence."
During his speech, Smith said 33 Texas Republican senatorial District conventions have passed a resolution calling "for a Texas independence referendum as a legislative priority."
To audible cheers from the audience he said: "How many people in this room support Texit? Look behind you. We're not fringe."
"139,000 Republican Texas primary voters signed a petition asking to put this on the ballot and it was denied by this party," he said. "Please correct that wrong, please respect the will of your Republican primary voters and look at the language we're about to submit to you to amend one of the ones you've put countless hours in on."
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However, not all attendees were impressed. One asked, "Why is what you propose not treason?" to which Smith responded, "Because there's nothing in the U.S. Constitution which prohibits a state from leaving the Union."
Newsweek reached out to the Republican Party of Texas via online press inquiry form and TNM President Daniel Miller via X direct message for comment.
The Republic of Texas was an independent sovereign state in North America from 1836 to 1845. Following the Texas Revolution, it declared its independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836. The Republic of Texas included modern-day Texas and parts of present-day New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Due to mounting internal and external pressures in 1845, Texas negotiated annexation with the United States, becoming the 28th state on December 29 of that year. This annexation contributed to the events leading to the Mexican-American War.
In February, a survey conducted exclusively for Newsweek found that in a hypothetical independence referendum, 23 percent of Texans would vote for the state to become "an independent country," while 67 percent would support Texas remaining "a state within the United States."
Speaking to Newsweek in December, Joshua Blank, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, said he didn't believe Texas could leave the U.S. peacefully.
"I think history has made clear that there is no plausible scenario in which Texas could peacefully extract itself from the United States, even were that the will of its populous—which there is no indication of to my knowledge," Blank said.
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