Indivisibles,

After the horrific acts of white nationalism this weekend, and the cowardice of Republicans’ attempts to deflect blame to literally anything other than their own party leader’s violent rhetoric, we are encouraged to see some of the Democratic presidential candidates respond appropriately -- not only by calling for comprehensive gun violence prevention, but also by naming the direct line between Trump’s villainization of immigrants and people of color, and the violence we’re seeing unfold. 

We need to speak out -- and demand our members of Congress (MoCs) speak out -- against white supremacy and the violence it stokes. We talked a lot about this in yesterday’s newsletter, so in case you missed it, we’re including those calls to action at the end of this email.

And we need to stay engaged on the upcoming elections, up and down the ticket. Indivisibles organized and attended 160 watch parties across the country for both nights of last week’s Democratic presidential debates in Detroit. And when the candidates stepped off stage, we sent you a new survey to check in with your impressions and preferences on the slate. We received 16,300 responses, and we’re ready to share the full results. 

The results are in:

Before we get into the nitty gritty, a reminder that this survey is not an endorsement by Indivisible, or by any group or members who took part in the survey. But we are going to continue asking for your thoughts on the race, and sharing the results with the media, throughout this campaign because it is important that grassroots communities, including our own, are helping to shape the narrative in the presidential race. We also use these insights to inform our presidential engagement work and build toward what a potential endorsement process could look like. And in case you missed them, you can see the results from Night One and Night Two of our post-debate flash polls.

First -- we are seeing Senator Elizabeth Warren continue to lead the field, as she did in last month’s post-debate survey. When asked to pick a single choice for president, 45% of respondents went with Senator Warren -- up 10 points from June. Senator Warren is also the candidate with the highest net favorability in the movement.

But we’re nowhere near seeing respondents close in around a clear favorite. Seven candidates currently have a positive net favorability rating based on these responses: Senator Warren, Mayor Buttigieg, Senator Harris, Senator Booker, Secretary Castro, Senator Sanders, and Vice President Biden. Our analysis shows there’s still plenty of opportunity for movement within the top tier candidates -- and that September’s Houston debate, which will feature a narrower field, could be a key deciding factor for folks still considering their options. 

Lastly, we included new questions related to where the candidates are on the issues. When we compare how Indivisibles rated the candidates by issue with favorability overall, we see that nearly all of the top candidates were also those with positive net favorability, indicating that the Indivisible movement is choosing candidates who align with their values on key issues. 

These are just the toplines, and we encourage you to dig into the detailed results! Click here to read out blog post for more information.

What’s next?

First, we need to make this primary (and this election) about more than beating Trump. This must be about Democrats’ ideas and vision for our future together. And that includes immigration, racial justice, and ending gun violence. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Ask our senators to publicly demand Mitch McConnell call an emergency session to vote on House-passed gun violence prevention legislation and cosponsor S. 42, Chris Murphy's Background Check Expansion Act. Click here to make your call right now.
2. Organize to tell our representatives to defund Trump’s hateful deportation agenda by cutting funding to ICE and CBP in this September’s budget fight. Check out our Defund Hate toolkit to start mobilizing.
3. Show up to ask the hard questions and get our MoCs on the record, publicly supporting a formal impeachment inquiry in the House. (If ten episodes of obstruction of justice weren't enough, inciting domestic terrorism and hate crimes should be. He's unfit for office and there is a mechanism in place to remove him). We have everything you need at our new Impeachment August campaign site here.
4. Call on senators and 2020 candidates to get real about how we get any of this done and commit to ending the filibuster in 2021, so we can finally pass gun control legislation, and all of the bold policies we badly need. Read our full explainer here, and keep an eye out for more opportunities for action. 
5. Finally, let’s gear up for the next presidential debates on Thursday, September 12 (and potentially an additional night on Friday, September 13) in Houston, Texas. Insist on meaningful plans from all of the 2020ers on issues like immigration, fighting white nationalism, and addressing gun violence.

Right now, we have about a month to make some noise, while our MoCs are home for recess and the candidates are back on the trail, to elevate our issues and demonstrate our real political power. Let’s make it count.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team