Join us to bring back the moderates.
Congress has lost its middle. Independents voting together can elect moderates, Republican or Democrat, who work together to solve our problems.
Why "The Indigos"? Independent of either party, going together when we vote. And indigo blends red and blue.
Today's House, from most liberal to most conservative
Each dot is one House member, placed by how they vote. Voteview, 2026.
How we lost the middle
In 1971, the parties overlapped. Today they don't.
Line up every House member by how they actually vote. In 1971, 53 Democrats voted to the right of the most liberal Republican, and 144 Republicans voted to the left of the most conservative Democrat. That overlap was where the two sides could meet. The last of it disappeared in 2002, and the typical Democrat and typical Republican are now 57% further apart than in 1971.
Each dot is one House member, placed by DW-NOMINATE score, a standard measure of how liberal or conservative a member's roll-call votes are. Includes everyone who served in the Congresses that began in 1971 and 2025. Typical member is the party median. Voteview, 2026.
Why did Republicans move more than Democrats?
New members, not changed minds. Most of the shift came from replacement. Sitting members rarely moved much. The party moved as more conservative Republicans won seats held by moderates.
The South switched parties. After the civil rights era, conservative Southern Democrats were replaced over several decades by more conservative Southern Republicans. That pulled the Republican side right.
The moderates outside the South faded. Northeastern and Midwestern moderate Republicans lost or retired. The 2010 Tea Party wave brought in a large class of new conservatives, and the Freedom Caucus formed in 2015.
Smaller government became the core. Opposition to taxes and spending set the party line, from the no-new-taxes pledge to debt-limit and shutdown fights.
The parties are built differently. Researchers describe Republicans as an ideological movement and Democrats as a coalition of groups that bargain for specific programs, which keeps their votes more pragmatic.
Among voters it looks different: from 1994 to 2017, Democratic voters moved further left on issues like race and government aid than Republican voters moved right.
Poole and Rosenthal, Ideology and Congress, 2007. Grossmann and Hopkins, Asymmetric Politics, 2016. Pew Research Center, 2017.
Congress lost its middle. Voters didn't.
The loudest voices aren't the majority. Most Americans are flexible, tired of the fighting, and want problems solved.
More in Common, 2018. Pew Research Center, 2023. Gallup, 2025 (published January 2026).
It didn't happen by accident. Three forces keep pulling the parties to the edges.
Safe seats
Most districts are drawn or sorted so one party always wins.
2Primaries
So the real election is a primary, decided by a small, partisan slice of voters.
3Outrage pays
Social and partisan media earn more when we're angry at each other.
None of these forces is slowing down.
Force 1 · Safe seats
Most elections are over before they start.
In 2024, 367 of the 435 House races were won by 10 points or more, and 22 winners had no opponent at all. Only 36 were decided by less than five. Some of that is how we've sorted ourselves into like-minded places. Some is maps drawn by politicians to protect their party, and several states redrew theirs again in 2025 and 2026.
Each dot is one House race. Indigos analysis of 2024 certified results from state election offices. Margin is the gap between the top two finishers (final round where ranked-choice voting applies). Won by 10+ includes 22 uncontested races.
Force 2 · Primaries
In a safe seat, the primary is the real election. Few people vote in it.
In 2024, 87% of the House was effectively chosen in primaries decided by just 7% of Americans. The voters who show up lean to the edges. And in 16 states, independents can't vote in congressional primaries at all.
Unite America, 2024. Primary voters: 64% of consistent conservatives and 49% of consistent liberals vote in primaries, against 29% of people with mixed views (Pew). Closed primaries: Unite America, 2024.
Force 2 · Primaries
Working with the other side can cost you your job.
When the primary is the only race that matters, compromise is a risk and the most extreme candidate can win. It happens in both parties. Sen. Joe Lieberman lost his 2006 Democratic primary after breaking with his party. Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach in 2021, four lost their primaries and four retired.
Anderson, Butler and Harbridge-Yong, Rejecting Compromise, 2020. VOA, 2022. Brookings, 2026.
Force 3 · Outrage pays
Anger gets clicks. Clicks pay the bills.
In a study of 2.7 million posts, each word about the other side raised the odds of a post being shared by 67%. Half of Americans get news from social media, and cable news audiences split by party. We've learned to see the other side as enemies, and to think they're more extreme than they are.
Partisans with a very unfavorable view of the other party
Pew Research Center, 1994 to 2022. Sharing study: Rathje, Van Bavel and van der Linden, PNAS, 2021. News use: Pew, 2025.
The fix
Organize independents into a moderate voting bloc.
Today the party bases vote together and independents scatter, so the biggest group in the room is the easiest to ignore. The Indigos change that. Pledged independents vote together for candidates who work across the aisle and solve problems, and every candidate knows how many of us are in their district.
Each dot is 1% of U.S. adults. Gallup, 2025.
A bloc that rewards working together.
Be counted
Candidates see how many pledged Indigos live in their district. A candidate who works across the aisle knows there's a bloc ready to back them in November.
Back the builders
We rate every candidate on working across the aisle, common-sense positions and results, and back the better one.
Change the math
When compromise wins votes instead of costing them, candidates in both parties move back toward the middle.
To vote together, we need one standard.
So we rate every candidate on the same five things, from common-sense positions to working across the aisle. Each gets Fails, Mixed or Strong. Then we compare the candidates, make a call, and explain why.
See The Indigo Standard See the positions we rateExample scorecardCandidate A
Illustration only. No candidates have been rated yet.
We set the bar. Candidates compete to clear it.
Every candidate learns their ratings and exactly how to improve them. The pledged Indigos in their district are the reason to try.
How it works for candidatesSometimes a Republican. Sometimes a Democrat.
The best candidate gets our votes, whatever their party. That's what independent means. Our record by party is public.
Arizona's 2026 general election: every candidate race on the statewide ballot, including the state Legislature. Many of this year's calls turned on our red line for accepting certified election results. See every call and why.
Independent of either party.
Going together when we vote.
Take the pledge. When we recommend a candidate, we vote for them together.
Each dot is 1% of U.S. adults. Gallup, 2025.
The Indigo Standard
How we rate every candidate.
Five criteria. Three ratings. Then we make a call and explain it. The same rules for Republicans, Democrats, and everyone else.
Three ratings
Every rating is published with the reason for it. All five criteria count equally.
Falls well short of the standard. We name exactly how.
Real positives alongside real concerns. We name the concerns.
Clear, documented evidence of meeting the criterion, in office or out.
The five criteria
What earns Strong, and the evidence we use to decide.
Common-sense positions
Positions on the major issues, from health care to immigration to defense, that work, can be paid for, and sit within the broad mainstream.
Evidence: public positions and votes, checked against nonpartisan evidence on whether a policy works and what it costs, with polling as a check.
Works across the aisle
Builds coalitions, works with the other party, breaks with their own party when the facts call for it.
Evidence: co-sponsorships, cross-party votes, joint initiatives.
Gets results
Passes laws, delivers for constituents, passes budgets on time, avoids shutdown brinkmanship.
Evidence: laws enacted, outcomes, budget record. For newcomers, documented results from their careers, military service or community work.
Integrity and accountability
Tells the truth, describes policies honestly without promising results the evidence doesn’t support, avoids conflicts of interest, supports ethics reforms like a stock trading ban for members of Congress, answers to voters.
Evidence: ethics findings, disclosures, fact-checks, votes missed, town halls.
Respect for democratic institutions
Accepts legitimate election results, respects courts and the rule of law, treats election officials and judges with respect.
Evidence: public statements, votes, official actions.
It depends on what a policy is for. Outcome policies, like health care, taxes and energy, are judged mainly on whether they work and can be paid for. Trust and fairness policies, like ethics and election rules, are judged on whether they build trust by fixing a real fairness problem without doing serious harm, with support across parties. Values questions, like abortion, are judged on whether they sit within the broad mainstream. Popularity alone never earns Strong.
See every position we’ve ratedRecord over rhetoric
What a candidate has done counts more than what they say they'll do. But a record isn't only time in office.
Strong takes evidence, not promises.
A documented track record or a verifiable action can earn Strong. Words alone can't.
Any track record counts.
Votes in office count. So do military service, running a business or organization, local government, community work, and positions held consistently over years.
Some criteria can be proven now.
A newcomer can earn Strong on integrity by publishing full financial disclosures, making a binding commitment not to trade stocks, and holding regular public town halls. A long public life with no attacks on elections, courts or officials can earn Strong on democratic institutions.
Promises reach Mixed, at most.
A specific public commitment, or a questionnaire answer, can move a Fail to Mixed, unless the Fail comes from a red line.
Every rating shows its sources and certainty.
The evidence and reasoning are published. Ratings based on a short record are labeled "Limited record," so you can see how proven each one is.
Red lines
Crossing any of these is an automatic Fail, and no promise can undo it. They apply to every party equally.
Encouraging, excusing or threatening political violence.
Refusing to accept certified election results, or acting to overturn them.
A conviction for corruption or fraud, or a formal finding of a serious ethics violation in office.
Documented use of public office for personal enrichment.
How we make the call
We put the candidates' ratings side by side, decide who's the better choice, and publish our reasoning. If none of them is worth recommending, we say so, and pledged members vote as they choose.
Example comparisonCandidate A vs. Candidate B
FailsMixedStrong
Both candidates have real strengths. Candidate B's record on common-sense positions falls well short, and on the issue voters here care most about, A is the stronger choice. The full reasoning is published with every call.
Illustration only. No candidates have been rated yet.
Built to be fair
The Standard only works if people across the spectrum trust it.
Two reviewers per candidate.
Rated independently. If they disagree, a third reviewer decides.
Balanced reviewers.
Every pair includes people who lean in different directions.
Declared affiliations.
Every reviewer's party registration and political donations are disclosed.
Public party tally.
A running count of our recommendations by party is always visible.
The Indigo Standard · Criterion 1
Common-sense positions.
Every position we found 2026 congressional candidates running on, from both parties. Each is rated with the test that fits what it’s trying to do.
For policies meant to change results, like health care, taxes, energy and crime. Strong needs good evidence it works and a realistic, paid-for cost. Fails if strong evidence says it doesn't work or can't be afforded, however popular it is.
For rules that shape trust in our institutions and markets, like ethics, elections and war powers. Strong needs a real, documented concern, evidence of no serious harm, and support across parties. Fails if it does serious harm.
For questions evidence can't settle, like abortion. Strong means a broad consensus across parties. Mixed means within the debate. Fails means outside where most Americans are.
Polling is a check, not the goal. A position rejected by large majorities across parties can't rate Strong, but popularity alone never earns it. How a candidate describes a policy counts toward their integrity rating, not here.
Ratings · 2026 general election
Three races, rated.
Two Senate races and one House race, rated on The Indigo Standard. We checked the same five things for every candidate, whatever their party.
- A record counts wherever it was built: in office, the military, business or community work.
- Positions are rated on what candidates stand for, whether shown by votes or by public statements.
- Where a candidate hasn't had the chance to show something, we say "No record yet." It never counts against them.
- Incumbents are judged on their full record, including hard votes. Time in office earns no points on its own.
Our record so far
In this draft: one Republican and two Democrats. We back the best candidate, from either party.
Arizona · General election, November 3, 2026
Your Arizona ballot, rated.
Every race and measure on Arizona's ballot, rated on The Indigo Standard. Enter your home address to see just the races on your ballot.
For candidates
Know your ratings. Improve them.
Every candidate sees their ratings before the public does, along with exactly what would improve them.
How ratings reach you
No surprises. You see the evidence, and you get the chance to correct it.
- 14 days before
Private notice
Your draft ratings, the evidence behind them, and the number of pledged Indigos in your district.
- Within 10 days
Right of reply
Correct the record with documented evidence. Verified errors get fixed.
- Publication day
Published
Your ratings, the evidence, and your response go public together.
- Ongoing
Updated
Ratings change when your record does. Earlier ratings stay visible.
How to improve your ratings
Your scorecard lists, criterion by criterion, the specific actions that would move you up.
Right away
A specific, public commitment can move a Fail to Mixed.
With evidence
Strong takes a documented track record or a verifiable action, such as publishing full financial disclosures. It does not have to come from holding office.
Stay clear of the red lines
A red line Fail can't be undone by any promise.
Example: improving a ratingCandidate B
Illustration only. No candidates have been rated yet.
Candidate inquiries
Contact details for campaigns will be posted before rating begins. No candidates have been rated yet.
Read the full StandardThe Pledge
Independent of either party. Going together when we vote.
When we recommend a candidate, pledged Indigos vote for them. That's where our power comes from.
When you take the pledge, you agree to:
- Vote for the recommended candidate when The Indigos issues a recommendation.
- Vote as you choose when there's no recommendation.
- Be counted. Candidates see how many pledged Indigos are in their district.
What the pledge isn't:
- It isn't joining a party. We back the best candidate, whatever their party.
- It isn't paid. There are no dues.
- It isn't permanent. You can leave anytime.
- It isn't checked. Your ballot stays secret. The pledge is your word.
Why it's still independent
Voting with a group sounds like the opposite of independence. It isn't.
Standards, not a team.
A partisan votes for their side no matter what. Indigos vote for whoever meets the standard, from any party.
Decide before the noise.
Committing to clear standards in advance protects your judgment from campaign-season spin.
Your vote joins a group anyway.
Every ballot gets added to millions of others. The only question is whether you choose your group on purpose.
Take the pledge.
Add your name to the count. That number is what makes candidates listen.
Questions
Straight answers.
Isn't pledging the opposite of independent?
No. Independence means you're not loyal to a party. Indigos are loyal to standards, and we back whoever meets them.
Is this a new party?
No. We don't run candidates. We score the ones who do, from every party.
What if every candidate falls short?
We'll either recommend the better choice and explain why, or make no recommendation. Either way, we show our reasoning.
Will you know how I voted?
No. Your ballot is secret. The pledge is your word, and that's enough.
Can I leave?
Anytime. Unsubscribe and you're out of the count.
Who does the rating?
Two reviewers per candidate, from different leanings, with their affiliations disclosed. The full rules are in The Indigo Standard.
Why do you need my ZIP code?
To count you in your congressional district. That count is what candidates pay attention to. We don't ask for your address.
What does "common sense" mean?
Two tests: most people support it, across parties, and there's evidence it actually works.
Does it cost anything?
No. There are no dues, and we don't collect money on this site.
Do I have to take the pledge to join?
No. You can sign up for updates only, and take the pledge whenever you're ready.