When News 5 WCYB’s Marrah Ste. Marie sat down with West Virginia State Senator Chris Rose, she wasn’t asking about a symbolic tweet or a throwaway talking point.
She was asking about a formal resolution inviting 27 Virginia counties – plus three in Maryland – to leave their current states and join West Virginia.
Sen. Rose confirmed to Ste. Marie that this is not a joke, not a meme, and not a stunt in his mind.
He says it is a serious response to voters who feel abandoned after Virginia’s latest election shifted power sharply toward Democrats.
A Bold Invitation From The Mountain State
Marrah Ste. Marie reports that Rose’s resolution extends an official invitation to almost every Virginia county that borders West Virginia, especially across the southwestern corridor.
Three western Maryland counties are also included.
In her coverage, Ste. Marie explains that the resolution will be sent to lawmakers in Virginia, Maryland, and to federal officials, including the President of the United States.
It’s essentially West Virginia saying on paper: If you want out, we’ll take you in.
Rose tells Ste. Marie he believes these counties “have a lot more in common” with West Virginia than with the political centers that currently govern them from Richmond and Annapolis.
He frames it as a cultural and political fit – coal, gas, farming, guns, and small-town values.
From the outside, it sounds wild.
But as Rose reminds her, West Virginia itself was once carved out of Virginia. State lines changing isn’t common, but it’s not unheard of in American history.
Frustrated Voters Feel Drowned Out
In his full interview with Ste. Marie, Rose goes deeper into what sparked this move.
He says the idea had been floating around for years, especially before the pandemic, but the latest Virginia elections lit the fuse.
Rose tells her that after Democrats swept statewide power and federal workers continued flooding into Northern Virginia and Eastern Maryland, many long-time residents felt politically outnumbered.
He says people from those rural regions reached out and asked him to “champion this” so their voices could “finally be heard.”
As Rose describes it, these are coal miners, gas workers, farmers, and small-town residents who feel their votes are meaningless against the weight of the D.C. suburbs.
They see Northern Virginia and urban centers setting policy that threatens their jobs, their energy industries, and their gun rights.
Ste. Marie’s reporting also notes that not all Virginians agree.
Some locals she spoke to liked the idea – one even floated creating a new state starting around Roanoke – while others said they “love being a Virginian” and wouldn’t want to change at all.
That split is important.
It shows this isn’t some unanimous uprising; it’s a pocket of deep frustration that’s finally getting a loud, public vehicle.
“It’s Not Going To Happen” – And Why It Still Matters
When Marrah Ste. Marie relayed the idea to Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, his reaction was blunt.
He laughed and said, “It’s not going to happen. So those are my thoughts.”
Rose, speaking to Ste. Marie, openly admits it’s a long shot.
He calls it an “uphill battle” to convince Virginia and Maryland legislatures to let go of tax base, population, and resources.
But he pushes back hard on the idea that the odds are zero.
He points to earlier examples like Maine separating from Massachusetts and West Virginia separating from Virginia, and says history has a way of surprising people.
Gun-rights commentator Jared Yanis, host of Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News, leans into that tension.
In his video, Yanis tells viewers this is “almost certainly” not going to happen in the near term – but he stresses that the symbolism is the point.
Yanis describes the resolution as a “political signal,” a way for discontented counties to say: we feel so ignored we’re ready to talk about leaving.
In his view, even if the map never changes, the message is loud and aimed squarely at Richmond and Washington.
That’s probably the right way to read it.
Big territorial shifts almost never happen quickly – but they can change the conversation overnight.
How Counties Would Actually Switch States
Both Ste. Marie’s interview and Yanis’ breakdown spell out the mechanics, and they’re complicated.
This isn’t like a county board voting to rename a road.
Rose explains to Ste. Marie that, first, lawmakers in Virginia and Maryland would have to introduce and pass legislation allowing those specific counties to depart.
That alone is a massive political hurdle, especially when those counties contribute valuable tax revenue, energy production, farmland, and even universities like Virginia Tech.
Next, the West Virginia Legislature would need to pass its own laws formally accepting the counties.
Rose says West Virginia’s leadership – including the governor and lieutenant governor – already “fully support” his resolution and are eager to welcome the new residents.
Then comes Congress.
Yanis notes, and Rose echoes, that Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution requires congressional approval for changes to state boundaries.
Even if every local voter and every state legislator agreed, it would still need a green light from Washington, D.C.
That means national politics, national bargaining, and all the gridlock that comes with it.
On top of that, Yanis points out the practical chaos that would follow: new tax systems, new court jurisdictions, new policing structures, and huge shifts in everything from education funding to gun laws.
This is why he tells his audience the chance of it actually going through is “extremely low” in the short term.
But again, both men agree: the process itself is part of the pressure campaign.
It forces people in power to confront just how alienated these communities feel.
What’s Driving This: Guns, Energy, And Representation
Jared Yanis makes it very clear why this story belongs on a gun-rights channel. He argues that for many people in these counties, the breaking point is gun control.
Yanis says Virginia just elected a “super extreme left governor” and installed a Democratic supermajority, which he believes will unleash a wave of gun-control bills “starting Monday.”
From his perspective, rural gun owners are staring down four very tough years.
Sen. Rose tells Ste. Marie something similar, but more broadly.
He says the invitation is about “freedom and representation” – and he specifically mentions Second Amendment issues, coal, and gas.
In Rose’s words, West Virginia is “one of the most pro-Second Amendment states in the entire union” and “one of the most pro-coal and gas states” as well.
He argues that southwestern Virginia and western Maryland residents would have more cultural and political alignment under Charleston than under Richmond or Annapolis.
Yanis frames it as a simple question: if your state legislature doesn’t have your back on gun rights, what options do you have?
You can fight in the legislature, support groups like the Virginia Citizens Defense League, move to another state, or – at least symbolically – talk about your county switching states outright.
From the outside, this may sound extreme.
But if you live in a place where every election feels like your community is being overruled by distant metro areas, it probably feels more like self-defense than theater.
A Long Shot – And A Warning Shot
Rose tells Ste. Marie he’s already building a grassroots push: collecting names, emails, and zip codes from supporters, planning a petition landing page, and tracking interest in a growing spreadsheet.
He even says other counties – including some in Pennsylvania – are now asking to be added.
He emphasizes that this isn’t about creating a viral meme.
He says, “We truly mean it when we want our fellow mountaineers to have those beautiful country roads to bring them home.”
Yanis, meanwhile, uses the story to push a broader message.
He reminds his viewers that, no matter who the governor is or what laws they sign, “you don’t get your rights from government – they sure as hell can’t take them away.”
Both men come at it from different angles – Rose as a sitting state senator, Yanis as a gun-rights commentator – but they’re describing the same underlying reality.
There is a serious, growing split between rural and urban America, and in some places it’s now so sharp that people are openly talking about switching states.
Will 27 Virginia counties really end up in West Virginia?
Almost certainly not anytime soon.
But as Marrah Ste. Marie’s reporting, Chris Rose’s passion, and Jared Yanis’ analysis all show, the fact that this conversation is happening at all is a warning shot – politically and culturally.
Ignore that level of frustration long enough, and eventually, lines on a map stop feeling as permanent as they look.
UP NEXT: “Heavily Armed” — See Which States Are The Most Strapped
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Americans have long debated the role of firearms, but one thing is sure — some states are far more armed than others. See where your state ranks in this new report on firearm ownership across the U.S.
The article West Virginia Makes Formal Offer for 27 Virginia Counties To Switch States first appeared on Survival World.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
