Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher is behind a long-shot effort to split California into two separate states.

He now thinks Orange County should be added to the new proposed state, comprised mostly of inland counties.

Gallagher floated his California split proposal two weeks ago, amid legislative Democrats’ efforts to advance a mid-cycle congressional redistricting proposal. Voters in November, in a special election, will decide whether to enact partisan maps for the next three congressional elections — a move proponents say is meant to counter similar gerrymandering efforts in Republican-led states, including Texas and Missouri.

Gallagher’s original plan kept all of California’s coastal counties, except Del Norte, in one state with the others in a second state.

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