Indivisible 435 was created in late 2016 as a response to the election of President Donald Trump and was established to provide liberals a practical guide about “Resisting the Trump Agenda.” ¹ It is a project of the Indivisible Project, a 501(c)(4) advocacy group, created in cooperation with the 501(c)(3) anti-voter identification law nonprofit Spread the Vote.

Background

Indivisible 435 was a project created in 2017 that intended to support independent and Democratic Party candidates aligned with the party’s left-wing “progressive” faction challenging Republican Party incumbents in elections in every congressional district of the United States. The project was intended to be a “bold progressive vision” which “empowered” people to “expand the electorate” in all 435 congressional districts and to create a “radically inclusive, progressive and bold future.” ²

The project, alongside local groups, included supplying resources and training, “strategic targeting on key races to reclaim congressional and state power,” and candidate endorsements. ³ To earn Indivisible’s support in the 2018 midterm elections, candidates had to pledge permanent protection for illegal immigrants, universal healthcare, and to raise the minimum wage. ⁴

Endorsed Candidates

Indivisible 435 endorsed candidates in 2018 included Paulette Jordan, who ran for governor of Idaho; Andrew Learned, who ran for Florida’s 15th congressional district; Harley Rouda, who ran for California’s 48th district; Liuba Grechen Shirley, who ran for New York’s 2nd district; Jeramey Anderson, who ran for Mississippi’s 4th district; and Shawna Roberts, who ran for Ohio’s 6th district. Of these candidates, only Rouda won his election. ⁵

1. “Summary,” Indivisible, accessed April 26, 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20180305201143/https://www.indivisible.org/guide/summary/.
2. Debv, “WHAT’S NEXT: INDIVISIBLE’S BOLD NEW PROGRESSIVE VISION,” INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, accessed April 26, 2021, http://www.indivisiblenorthcoastoregon.org/2017/07/whats-next-indivisible-435-promises.html.
3. Debv, “WHAT’S NEXT: INDIVISIBLE’S BOLD NEW PROGRESSIVE VISION,” INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, accessed April 26, 2021, http://www.indivisiblenorthcoastoregon.org/2017/07/whats-next-indivisible-435-promises.html.
4. Undefined Undefined et al., “Has the Democratic Party Got a New Winning Formula?,” Univision, September 24, 2018, https://www.univision.com/univision-news/politics/has-the-democratic-party-got-a-new-winning-formula.
5. Off-Kilter Podcast, “Separated at the Border,” Medium (Medium, June 4, 2018), https://offkiltershow.medium.com/separated-at-the-border-ea3ab6e0c823.