WI - Cortéz Territory in a larger Mexican Cession

In the alternate history I am working on, the Mexican cession includes Baja California. Originally I had planned on splitting California into California [upper Alta] and Colorado [Lower Alta and Baja]. But after researching a bit on exactly why Baja California is split in our timeline, I began to doubt that this alternate Colorado would want the lower section of Baja California.

What if in this alternate history, the California's are divided into two states [California and Colorado] and a Territory [Cortéz]? How might this alternate division affect American Politics? Would the Cortéz Territory eventually become its own state or would it eventually be merged with Colorado?

I ask this mainly because the division of California into two divisions in the case of a larger cession is a overly done stereotype.
 

It'd be very Southern in character given it's compositions and leanings IOTL, which could have some political effects going forward. Los Angeles would fail to develop as anything other than a minor blue collar industrial city at best while San Francisco would enter a terminal decline following the 1906 Earthquake; San Diego will end up the dominant West Coast city.
 

Zachariah

Banned
In the alternate history I am working on, the Mexican cession includes Baja California. Originally I had planned on splitting California into California [upper Alta] and Colorado [Lower Alta and Baja]. But after researching a bit on exactly why Baja California is split in our timeline, I began to doubt that this alternate Colorado would want the lower section of Baja California.

What if in this alternate history, the California's are divided into two states [California and Colorado] and a Territory [Cortéz]? How might this alternate division affect American Politics? Would the Cortéz Territory eventually become its own state or would it eventually be merged with Colorado?

I ask this mainly because the division of California into two divisions in the case of a larger cession is a overly done stereotype.

Wouldn't it be more likely to become an extension of the Arizona territory at this time, rather than of California?
Wpdms_arizona_territory_1860_idx.png

As such, the likeliest outcome of the cession of Baja California (as part of TTL's larger Gadsden Purchase?) would be that it'd cement the split of the New Mexico Territory along those lines, with TTL's Arizona comprising the southern half of the New Mexico Territory instead of the western half, and thus including the Baja California peninsula. And quite possibly a decent part of the 'Colorado' region you've got in mind as well, if that dividing line's extended all the way to the Pacific- perhaps the division could go that way, with TTL's 'Colorado' being an expanded ATL Arizona instead? The eponymous Arizona City, from which the state originally derived its name (present day Yuma- although it was originally known as Colorado City, prior to being rebuilt on higher ground after the devastating Great Flood of 1862, so if you want to stick with 'Colorado' as your state's name, you could just have the city stick with the Colorado City name) would most likely remain the capital of TTL's expanded Arizona (/Colorado) Territory. Which could then have a major impact when the Civil War comes around, since the territory was in favor of seceding and joining the Confederacy IOTL.
 
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