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Cascadia Democratic Action launches campaign for Oregon and Washington independence
SEATTLE – Responding to sixteen months of the Trump administration’s descent into authoritarianism, the organization Cascadia Democratic Action is launching a campaign in Oregon and Washington to begin the process for these states to separate from the United States.
We’re a coalition of people across the Pacific Northwest who believe the US constitution has been ineffective in preventing the decline of democracy. This administration is ignoring the constitution, attacking the rule of law, abusing the criminal justice system to prosecute critics, illegally withholding of billions of dollars in appropriated funds, waging an illegal, costly war in Iran, and engaging in a cruel mass deportation campaign here at home.
A February 2026 YouGov poll found that 23% of Washington residents and 21% of Oregon residents support secession from the United States. As democracy continues to erode in the US, and as Donald Trump retaliates against blue states unwilling to cooperate with his mass deportation campaign, more and more residents of Cascadia want to explore steps toward autonomy.
Oregon and Washington have a combined population of 12 million people, and if we were to unite as a independent nation, we would have a GDP of $1.2 trillion, similar to the Netherlands.
On the eve of Cascadia Day on May 18 – the day when Mount St. Helens (also known as Loowit) erupted in 1980, our organization is reflecting on the power of geology and nature in the Pacific Northwest – as well as the power of our people to be resilient in the face of disaster.
“The relationship between the federal government and the states of Oregon and Washington has become one characterized by abuse, coercion, and lying. Donald Trump has taken the keys to the car and the family credit card and embarked on a reckless spending spree,” said Andrew Engelson, an organizer with CDA and a writer for Cascadia Journal.
“Trump’s regime seeks to build an opulent ballroom at the White House, asks for an obscene $1.5 trillion in military spending for endless wars, and wastes an unprecedented $140 billion each year for masked immigration agents and concentration camps. The residents of Cascadia are fed up with the federal government’s nonsense. It’s time for a divorce.”
Every year, Washington and Oregon pay $36 billion more in federal taxes than they receive back in funds and services. Cascadia would do better to keep that money at home to make life affordable for our residents — by funding public education, free college tuition, universal health care, affordable housing, and a robust transportation network.
Cascadia Democratic Action urges our local leaders to take the following steps to assert fiscal and governmental autonomy for Oregon and Washington:
- pass bills previously introduced in both legislatures that would withhold payments to the federal government if the Trump administration continues to illegally claw back appropriated funds
- pass bills in Oregon and Washington establishing public state banks to assert fiscal independence
- push Congress to pass legislation transferring ownership and management of the Pacific Northwest’s federal lands to state and tribal control
- encourage state commissions on geographical names to restore Indigenous names to the volcanic peaks and major rivers of the Cascadia bioregion
In addition, Cascadia Democratic Action is engaged in organizing and planning for statewide initiatives to be placed on the ballot in Oregon and Washington in the fall of 2028 asking voters if they want their state to leave the United States.
“We are disappointed that the supposed checks and balances on abuses of power in the US system of government have failed to reign in the Trump regime. Without radical reforms to the current US system, we believe the best option for the people of the Pacific Northwest is to work toward independence,” Engelson said.
In a recent article at Cascadia Journal, retired University of Washington law professor Hugh Spitzer said that an initiative on the issue of independence would be legal in Oregon and Washington and that there are legal but narrow pathways for states to secede from the Union.
Cascadia Democratic Action is a grassroots coalition dedicated to pursing non-violent strategies to achieve autonomy and/or independence for the people of Oregon and Washington, and to promote cross-border cooperation throughout the entire Cascadia bioregion. We do this to protect human rights, and to increase access to health care, affordable housing, childcare and education – as well as creating a resilient and environmentally sustainable economy in Cascadia. Our organization is anti-racist, anti-fascist, supports the human rights of all people — including LGBTQIA+ people and immigrants of any status — and supports the foregrounding of Indigenous rights and sovereignty.
CDA is proud to promote two events on Cascadia Day, May 18, 2026:
Cascadia Day Poetry Explosion, Seattle
Join Cascadia Democratic Action as we celebrate Cascadia Day with a lively reading by four poets in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Join us at 7 pm, Monday, May 18 at Vermilion Bar & Gallery at 1508 11th Ave. for an evening of poetry inspired by the Cascadia bioregion. May 18th is the day Loowit (also known as Mount St. Helen) erupted in 1980, and that date serves a reminder of the magnificent power of nature in the Pacific Northwest — and the strength and resiliency of the people who live here. Four poets will celebrate the day: Paul Nelson, Matt Trease, Nadine Maestas, and Rhea Melina. The event is free but we encourage those attending to donate to the Migrant Survival Fund, a mutual aid effort supporting at-risk immigrant families in south King County, and the Kawaguchi O’Connor Initiative (KOI), a mutual aid group that supports trans people in Seattle who have fled hostile states. More info at Cascadia Democratic Action.
Gathering Cascadia, Portland
The Gathering Cascadia festival takes place in Portland from 4 to 8 pm, Monday May 18 at Taborspace, 5441 SE Belmont St. The event has an action-packed lineup of info booths, musical performances, workshops, discussion pods, local food, visual art, and a film screening. Get your tickets here.
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Cascadia Democratic Action: https://cascadiademocratic.org/
PO Box 20022, Seattle, WA 98102