About Progressive Congress

Progressive Congress follows the progressives running for, and serving in, the U.S. House and Senate: people fighting for healthcare, climate action, peace, and economic justice. We track the endorsements of leading progressive organizations, score how progressive each candidate’s platform is, list every House and Senate seat with who holds it and who is running for it, and keep a Wall of Shame for the Democrats who vote with MAGA Republicans, are aligned with non-progressive organizations, or are otherwise performing badly in Congress.

The choices here, from which organizations to follow to which candidates to feature, come down to the site creator's judgment of what being progressive means. Our methodology page explains how those calls are made.

Our Goals Change With the Calendar

What this site is for depends on where we are in the election cycle. We’d rather say so plainly than leave you guessing, so here is each phase, what we’re trying to do in it, and where we are now.

  1. The PrimariesMarch – September 2026

    We set out to find the most progressive candidates running in the 2026 primaries, and to help voters, donors, and volunteers choose them over candidates who weren’t progressive.

  2. The General ElectionThrough November 3, 2026We are here

    Get progressives elected in November; before that, donations and volunteer time for the campaigns that need them most.

  3. Between the Election and the Swearing-InNovember 2026 – January 2027

    Show who won and which races are still being counted, and preview the progressives who will be sworn in in January 2027. Thank the runners-up too; many of them could run again.

  4. The New Congress2027

    Hold the new members to the platforms they ran on: compare their campaign promises with their votes and the bills they cosponsor, and point constituents to the commitments their representative still hasn’t made.

  5. Building the 2028 BenchLate 2027 – 2028

    Help re-elect the progressives already in office, and find progressives to run for the seats now held by Republicans and by Democrats who aren’t progressive. That includes the Senate seats up in 2028, about a third of the chamber. We’ll keep a watch list of 2026 runners-up and other likely candidates, and follow the signs that they’re running again.

Always: Pushing for More Progressive

Through every phase, we also want to move the candidates and members of Congress who aren’t very progressive yet. We want them to add bolder commitments to their platforms, and to vote that way once they’re in office. Our Progressive Super-Platform collects the strongest commitments candidates have made, in their own words, so anyone can see what a better platform looks like. Our candidate information page shows campaigns how to earn endorsements and sign pledges. And the Wall of Shame shows which Democrats vote against progressive priorities.

Independent

This site isn’t affiliated with any candidate, campaign, party committee, or endorsing organization, and it takes no money from any of them. It’s built with volunteer time, and its hosting costs are donated.

Who It’s For

Progressive Congress is for activists, donors, organizers, candidates, and the press, including people who haven’t gotten involved yet. It isn’t meant as a voter’s guide. Most people vote in only one House race and one Senate race, and the bigger value here is the national picture: where progressives are running, where they’ve won, and where they’re still needed.

Being featured here isn’t always a voting recommendation, especially for independents and third-party candidates. In a plurality election, the most progressive name on the ballot isn’t always the one whose win leaves you better off. See our note on strategic voting.

How You Can Help

  • Share the pages that matter to you, especially a candidate’s page with people in their district or state.
  • Follow us on Instagram.
  • Know a progressive candidate we missed, or see something out of date? Let us know.
  • Know someone who’s running, or thinking about it? Send them to our candidate information page.

Questions

What counts as progressive?
We start from a set of progressive principles that most Americans already agree with. Candidates earn credit for endorsements from the organizations we track and for a progressive score, a 0–100 rating based mainly on the specific positions on their campaign websites.
Why are there Democrats on the Wall of Shame?
Being a Democrat isn’t enough. The Wall of Shame lists Democrats with several strikes against them: voting with Republicans on key bills, missing many votes, a failing grade from Integrity Index, or taking money from AIPAC and similar lobbies.
How does a candidate get listed?
The full list covers the candidates we’ve found in each race. Those with more endorsements or higher scores are featured more prominently, and the methodology page explains the rules. If a campaign is missing, tell us.
How often is the data updated?
Regularly, often daily during busy stretches of the campaign. The Recent Changes page lists what changed and when.