Indivisibles —

It’s been more than 20 years since Florida elected a Democratic governor. And for far too long, Florida voters had to “choose” between Republicans and rich, white moderate Democrats.

But when Floridians head to the polls on November 6, they’ll have the opportunity to elect a new voice, and a true progressive. Last night, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum won the Democratic party’s nomination for Governor of Florida. He’ll face off against Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06), a conservative who voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, has an A rating from the NRA, and sides with Trump’s bigoted anti-immigrant policies (oh, and he’s that guy who made an ad teaching his toddler how to “build the wall”).

Andrew beat a crowded Democratic field of millionaires and billionaires (seriously, billionaires) because progressive values resonate everywhere.

• Gillum was one of the only Democrats running for Governor who have come out in favor of repealing Stand Your Ground, a racist law that continues to be used to justify the murders of black men in the state.
• After marriage equality became legal federally, Gillum welcomed couples looking to get married to Tallahassee when other Florida counties were refusing to issue marriage licenses.
• He has been a consistent critic of the Trump administration’s cruel and immoral immigration policies. And he’s running against the NRA, with a record fighting and winning against the organization in a case to keep guns out of Tallahassee’s parks.

We were incredibly proud to endorse Andrew last month, after Florida Indivisibles nominated him for national endorsement, and our supporters across the state voted to back him. This work was supported by on-the-ground organizing from local groups led by communities of color — including Dream Defenders, FLIC Votes, New Florida Majority, and Organize Florida — that invested early in Andrew’s campaign even as many doubted his “electability.” Gillum’s campaign was also nationally endorsed by Collective PAC, NextGen America, CPD Action, Our Revolution, and People for the American Way.

We’re proud to have been a part of this broad coalition of organizations who helped ensure Floridians have a real choice and a real vision for the future of their state — who know that representation matters, and who helped make this historic moment possible.

Getting involved in primaries requires us to overcome our fears. It requires us to reimagine what it means to win with our movement’s values. It requires that we dare to believe we can win with an unabashedly progressive platform, not settling for establishment-backed, flush with cash candidates. Together, working shoulder to shoulder with folks across the state, here’s what we accomplished to show our support for the next Governor of Florida:

• National volunteers made nearly 30,000 calls to voters and sent more than 110,000 texts
• Indivisible Action Tampa Bay and Indivisible East Hillsboro canvassed in Hillsboro and Volusia counties, knocking on more than 1,000 doors!
• We invested $100,000 in digital ads (thanks to our small-dollar, grassroots donors!) to build name recognition and nearly $15,000 in direct mail to help target key voters to turn out for Gillum in the final days of the campaign.

This victory confirms what we’re seeing across the South, from Texas to Georgia to Alabama and Florida: unapologetic progressive campaigns that speak to marginalized voters early and often are generating enthusiasm and will be crucial to winning in November.

What we do next

Next weekend, September 8 and 9, Indivisibles across the country will host a national weekend of action. This is a time where activists from across the country come together in a coordinated effort to engage with their friends, families, and neighbors around the importance of participating in upcoming elections.

Indivisibles across the country are planning direct voter contact events for September 8 and 9. We’ll email you next Thursday if there’s an event in your area.

This weekend, we’re calling voters for IndivisiCandidates Ayanna Pressley and Tahirah Amatul-Wadud before the Massachusetts primary next Tuesday, September 4. AND we’re driving calls to voters in Alaska, Maine, Indiana, West Virginia, and North Dakota to call their Senators and stop Trump’s SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh. AND we’re calling out the vote for even more IndivisiCandidates next weekend for folks who can’t join a local event. That’s thousands of calls — and we need you to help make them. Here’s how you sign up:

1. Sign up for a call shift right now to make an impact.
2. When it’s time for your shift, warm up your vocal cords. Log into Hubdialer.
3. Make. Some. Calls.

Looking ahead

Elections aren’t about a single candidate or a single party. They’re about all of us. As Andrew said in his victory speech: “We can be the David in the situation where there is a Goliath.”

We’ve resisted Trump. And we’re building the blue wave. And as the primaries come to a close (just a few more to go!), we have to redouble our efforts, organize like we’ve never organized before.

By replacing our MoCs with candidates who represent us and our values, we will dramatically change the balance of power in Washington… and stop Trump and the GOP’s agenda once and for all.

Thanks for being with us every step of the way,
The Indivisible Team