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!”
Let the people of Lea County decide! https://t.co/yC9gKwjXTy
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) February 16, 2026
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.
