Kendall,

Quick question: Do you think the Democratic Party is doing enough to fight the fascists in the White House, the collaborators in Congress, and the gestapo goons terrorizing our neighborhoods?

If like me, you answered “no,” boy do I have good news! Today Indivisible is announcing our first 2026 primary endorsements. In Dem circles, some people aren’t sure about primaries, so let me explain why I think this is a big opportunity and why I hope you’ll get as excited as I am.

1. Primaries are how we build a Party that can govern and deliver. I can’t tell you how many times in the past 15 months I've heard something like "sure, we’re in the 'no to fascism' moment, but we need a party that fights for something!"
   
   I agree with this! So what can we do about it?
   
   Everything we hope to accomplish after we retake Congress in 2027 and after we retake the presidency in 2029 will be determined by what kind of Democrats we select this year in primaries. If we want a Dem Party with a vision for the future, we make that a reality by backing leaders who aren't beholden to the politics of the past.
   
   
2. Primaries help us shift the Party into fighting posture now. I love that future vision, but I’ll be honest: I'm most worried about the present. We have a fascist in the White House publicly scheming to subvert the midterm elections. We need a unified opposition party to fight back now. 
   
   Good news: We get to use primaries to move the party now. Too many Dem electeds remain wed to a status quo, consultant-driven, version of politics. They’ve sized this movement up and concluded that we’ll protest, but we won’t threaten their power. Primaries give us the opportunity to show we’re serious.
   
   We do that by understanding what politicians want: Every elected wants to get reelected, and every leader wants support to remain in leadership. If Dem caucus members see status quo Democrats losing to grassroots-backed challengers, they'll shift purely out of a sense of political self-preservation. That’s a win for the long-term -- but it also shifts the party now.

Indivisible is backing fighters -- simple as that. We’ll get more into the strategy on this Thursday's What’s the Plan call (help us spread the news that the weekly call is now available as a podcast by rating it and sharing it!), but let’s get into some specifics here. Primaries are about choices, and Indivisible is announcing three endorsement choices today:

• Minnesota Senate: Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan is a fighter. Elizabeth Warren, the nurses, organized labor, and grassroots groups back her for a reason -- she’s got a record of delivering progress as Gov. Tim Walz's Lt. Governor. And she’ll be the first Indigenous Senator to boot. 
• Her opponent Angie Craig has Chuck Schumer’s support. Craig also has the support of the crypto industry, AIPAC, and corporate donors. Last year, she voted to thank ICE for its service and helped Republicans pass the Laken Riley Act, stripping immigrants of their rights. It's hard to yell “status quo” louder than this.

• NY-10: Brad Lander is a fighter. How can you not love Brad Lander? What a mensch. You might've seen him tackled by regime henchmen for daring to stand up for immigrants last year. He’s a real public servant who's spent years delivering real gains for workers, tenants, and immigrant communities. 
• His opponent Dan Goldman is a wealthy corporate incumbent. He’s funded by billionaire Trumpers and joined Republicans last year to let Trump take in more crypto profiteering. Despite representing one of the safest Dem districts in the country, Goldman refused to endorse Zohran Mamdani -- even after he won the primary and faced a Republican billionaire-backed Cuomo in the general election.
  
  
• GA-13: Dr. Jasmine Clark is a fighter. You may not have heard of Dr. Clark yet, but you will. A Georgia state representative with a record of defending democracy, healthcare, and public education, she’s running a grassroots campaign fueled by volunteers and her constituents.
• Her opponent David Scott is asleep at the switch. Scott is a conservative Democrat in a safe blue district who hasn’t bothered to vote in any of the past seven elections. He did find the energy to team up with Angie Craig and Congressional Republicans to formally express gratitude to ICE last year, and broke with fellow Democrats to vote for additional ICE funding last month. 

A real opposition party needs fighters, not folders. Peggy, Brad, and Jasmine have all been endorsed by local Indivisible groups. They've all received a supermajority vote from Indivisibles in their district or state. They all refuse crypto, AIPAC, and corporate money of any kind. And they all represent a threat to status quo politics and a shift towards a stronger, fighting Democratic Party. We get the party we demand -- supporting these candidates is how we demand it.

Indivisible will have more endorsements in the weeks to come, led by local Indivisible groups. We're going to win these primaries. Then we're going to stomp the regime in the midterms. Then we're going to repel whatever attempt Trump makes to steal the election. Then we're going to celebrate. And then we're going to govern.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

Your weekly to-dos

1. Tell your Members of Congress: Stop the ICE terror machine. Congress is scrambling to pass a DHS funding bill by Friday, and we need to make it loud and clear that our senators and representatives must oppose any bill that hands ICE and Border Patrol more funding or fails to include strict safeguards to protect our communities. Use the link above to email your Members of Congress, then be sure to call your senators during business hours.
   
   
2. Join this week’s virtual training to learn practical, actionable lessons on organizing against authoritarianism from Minnesota’s resistance against ICE and CBP. Organizers in Minnesota have transformed crisis into action and tragedy into solidarity. On Thursday, Feb 12 at 7pm ET, those organizers and MN leaders including Rep. Ilhan Omar will share what they’ve learned so we can all be better prepared to organize amidst crises and protect our neighbors from ICE and Border Patrol deployments.
   
   
3. Call your representative and tell them to oppose new voter suppression legislation modeled on the infamous SAVE Act. Last Congress, we helped defeat the SAVE Act, one of the worst voter suppression bills in a half century. Now, a series of bills with the same impact (ending registration by mail, adding new ID requirements that could prevent millions of eligible voters from registering) could get a vote in the House this week. Make sure your rep hears from you before the vote. (More info here.)

P.S. The announcement of our first slate of endorsees means Indivisible’s 2026 election work is officially underway. We need your help building a better Democratic Party during the primaries and then organizing toward a historic wave in the midterms. If you can, chip in to help power our election ground game here.  

UPDATE: DHS funding deadlines

​​Department of Homeland Security funding runs out on Friday.

Democrats have pledged to withhold their votes from any funding bill that fails to include significant restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol. Despite Americans being killed in the streets, Republican leaders don’t seem ready to pass anything to address ICE and CBP terror.

Four things could happen this week:

1. Dems cave fully and pass a bill that doesn’t do much to rein in ICE and CBP;
2. Dems cave partially and agree to another temporary funding bill;
3. Republicans cave and we win;
4. There’s no agreement, and there’s a partial government shutdown.

Despite Republican posturing, the politics are on our side. The vast majority of Americans think ICE’s actions have gone way too far. Republicans are obviously feeling the heat -- that’s why they're willing to negotiate at all.

Our job: Keep up the pressure on both parties. Republicans need to agree to rein in ICE. Dems must not agree to anything that falls short -- including another continuing resolution that would kick the funding battle down the road and continue the untenable status quo of deadly ICE/CBP violence.

Call your senators.

Call your representative.

Email all your Members of Congress.

Dems are doing the right thing, for now. So the ball's in the Republicans’ court. If there’s a partial government shutdown this weekend, it’ll be for one reason: because Republicans refused to do the bare minimum to protect Americans from a lawless, masked paramilitary force. And we’ll make sure their constituents know it.

IndivisiWIN of the week

Last week, Rachel Maddow reported the resoundingly successful outcome of a campaign by RVA Indivisible and area partners demanding that Hanover County, VA reject a proposal to establish an ICE detention camp in a vacant, half-million square-foot warehouse in Ashland, VA.

News of the proposal broke in the local press just days before a regularly scheduled County Board of Supervisors meeting. With little time to organize, Hanover County residents were able to pack the meeting space, so much so that dozens and dozens more had to wait outside, which they gladly did -- on an icy, frigid night. When the vote came, those in the snow could hear the cheers that erupted from those in the room: The proposal had been rejected.

As one Indivisible who was live streaming the event put it: "These wonderful patriots have defeated the concentration camp!" And that's what democracy looks like.

Solidarity in Action speaker series first installment: applying the lessons of Black history to this moment

Everything this pro-democracy movement does, we do on the shoulders and in the footsteps of those who showed us how.

On February 23, in celebration of Black History Month, this year's Solidarity in Action speaker series launches with recognition of the debt owed to Black leadership, with Systems and Power: Lessons From Those Who Came Before Us.

Facilitated by Indivisible co-founder and co-Executive Director Leah Greenberg and led by Barbara R. Arnwine, Esq, president and founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition, we'll explore systemic inequities and power structures, and discuss how best to translate historical lessons into contemporary, movement-building practices.

Arnwine is internationally renowned for her contributions on critical justice issues, including the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the 2006 reauthorization of Voting Rights Act provisions.

The Solidarity in Action: Building Power That Lasts series gives Indivisibles the opportunity to learn from experts on systemic change and allyship. Authoritarianism succeeds when autocrats target vulnerable populations, and those not targeted look away. We refuse to look away.

This will be a chance to examine how past organizers built movement resilience and explore how to best apply that depth of knowledge to this moment.

Register now for Systems and Power: Lessons From Those Who Came Before Us.

Upcoming events for you

These nationwide events, calls, and training sessions are coming up soon. For even more Indivisible happenings, check our national calendar and get in touch with Indivisible groups near you!

Follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.