When a political party's presidential hopeful dies unexpectedly, they question the possibility of finding a suitable replacement. Instead, they hit on the strategy of selecting someone who is like able and can court minority voters. Even if the candidate has little chance of winning, in the hopes of setting themselves up for a future victory. They wind up selecting Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock), a local D. C. alderman. Although Gilliam is initially surprised by the selection and concerned about his ability to run a campaign, he agrees. Gilliam is encouraged by his brother Mitch (Bernie Mac), to tell the people exactly what he believes, without suger-coating the rhetoric. Much to the shock of those around him and to the media, he does so, receiving encouraging responses from his audiences. As he continues, he is forced to fight a dirty political smear campaign against the incumbent, and later discovers that members of his own party are plotting against him. When the election nears, he realizes that it may indeed be possible to win, but not if he can't keep his promises to the people.
