Southeast NM secession story has legs even if actual secession does not

03.30.2026

During the recent New Mexico legislative session a constitutional amendment was introduced that, if the process were followed to its conclusion, would result in some of New Mexico’s oil-rich counties leaving New Mexico (presumably to join Texas). While a fun story that highlights: 1) conservative frustration with New Mexico’s far-left governance and 2) the financial importance these counties (specifically Lea and Eddy) hold for New Mexico, it is worth noting that the amendment didn’t get so much as a hearing.

It is also worth noting that no state secession movement has succeeded since West Virginia left Virginia in the middle of the Civil War. There have been several developments and numerous media stories on this topic starting with the Texas Speaker of the House setting up a committee in his Legislature to study annexation.

There have also been somewhat hilarious reactions from New Mexico House speaker Javier Martinez (criticize Trump) and Gov. Lujan Grisham (New Mexico is better off because of lower methane emissions).

To be fair, Southeast New Mexico would benefit significantly from joining Texas while New Mexico would likely wither and die (or at least need to fundamentally reevaluate its oil-driven economic policies).

  1. According to the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America index: Texas is 4th best overall while New Mexico is last. 
  2. According to the recent Wallethub taxpayer ROI index Texas is ranked 13th while New Mexico is last.
  3. Texas with its zero income tax is correctly viewed as a “low-tax” state. Although it has high property taxes Wallethub ranks Texas as having the 40th-heaviest tax burden while New Mexico is 12th-heaviest. 
  4. While not a top performer, Texas substantially outperforms dead-last New Mexico in the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
  5. Perhaps unsurprisingly Texas is among the fastest growing states in the nation population-wise while New Mexico has barely eked out growth since 2020 (see visual below).