''American Candidate'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series broadcast by

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. The series premiered on August 1, 2004, and concluded with its tenth episode on October 10, 2004. The series depicted a competition among twelve diverse contestants for a $200,000 reward. The contestants were required to travel across the United States in order to compete in a series of politically-themed challenges reminiscent of a

political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...

. These challenges tested the candidates' presidential qualifications and qualities. Each week, a contestant was eliminated through means of audience participation and polling. Whichever contestant remained at the end of competition received the monetary reward in addition to a

national platform The National Platform for EU Research and Information Centre shortened to National Platform is an Irish Eurosceptic lobby group which campaigns against greater European Union integration, and against a Federal superstate. It is a member of the ...

. The series was hosted by American television presenter

Montel Williams Montel Brian Anthony Williams (born July 3, 1956) is an American television host, actor and motivational speaker. He is known for hosting the long-running daytime tabloid talk show '' The Montel Williams Show'', which ran in syndication from 199 ...

Format

Paralleling the 2004 United States presidential election, the show featured contestants running as "candidates" in a mock campaign. Initially, the public could announce their "candidacy" on the show's website and garner support. Eventually, eleven contestants were chosen to appear on the show itself. Each week, the contestants would compete in a politically themed challenge, coached by various political experts. The two contestants who fared the poorest each week would debate, and one would be eliminated (voted by the remaining contestants). For the final two episodes, the viewers voted, and eventually chose the final winner.

Challenges

Throughout the series, the contestants traveled in a

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all over the United States, participating in various challenges, each modeled on real activities candidates for public office might expect to undergo: * Week 1: Hometown support * Week 2: Deliver a speech on the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

to residents of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

* Week 3: Press conference on

jobs Jobs may refer to: * Job, an activity that people do for regular income gain People * Steve Jobs (1955–2011), co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc ** Steve Jobs (disambiguation) * Laurene Powell Jobs (born 1963), widow of Steve Jobs * Lisa ...

and the

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in Allentown, Pennsylvania * Week 4: Charlottesville, Virginia * Week 5:

Focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...

s in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

* Week 6: Political ads in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

* Week 7:

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

* Week 8-9:

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

* Week 10: Finale

Contestants

In reverse elimination order: # Park Gillespie ( Conservative Christian, winner) # Malia Lazu # Lisa Witter #

Keith Boykin Keith Boykin is an American TV and film producer, national political commentator, author, and former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. He has made much of this public in his 2022 memoir, ''Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of ...

( gay rights activist) # Bruce Friedrich (

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

activist) # Joyce Riley (

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

veterans spokesperson) #

Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...

(

gun store A gun shop (also known by various other names such as firearm store and gun store) is a business that sells firearms, such as handguns and long guns, to individuals in an open shopping format. It may also provide repairs for firearms and their ...

owner) # James M. Strock (Entrepreneur, Speaker, Former Public Official) # Robert W. Vanech (entrepreneur, venture capitalist) # Chrissy Gephardt (daughter of Dick Gephardt)

References

External links

* * {{Showtime Network programming 2000s American reality television series 2004 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings Political mass media in the United States Showtime (TV network) original programming Television series by CBS Studios English-language television shows 2004 United States presidential election in popular culture