“The Candidate” is a great example of the inside of a campaign and the inside of an election. Elections involve not only the candidate himself, but also the campaign manager, supporters, the candidate's family, and media personnel. During “The Candidate” the Democratic candidate John McKay uses many strategies to “not” win his election as senator from California. Going into this campaign McKay hoped not to win the election, as time went by his view of the election changed as did his strategies. Many of the campaign strategies used by John McKay include him saying what he wants, doing what he wants and going where he wants. While his campaign manager has stuck to this idea, John McKay has always found a way to put his own spin on the situation at hand. At the beginning of the election he went out of his way to win over the union by greeting them and introducing himself as they came off work, but towards the end he won over Mr. Starkey (almost like the union president) by disrespecting him (the union president thought he was joking ). He makes Jarmen look like a liar by saying things like, "Why does Jarmen say he'll argue with me and not even show up?!" Once he realized that a speech he gave moved people, he began repeating it everywhere he went. In this way he was modeling exactly what he represented in their heads. John McKay wanted his campaign to move away from the usual type of mechanical politics. He wanted to run his campaign exactly the way he wanted and it would work! When he played by the rules, being a good guy and doing what his campaign manager told him to do, he received almost no attention. As time has passed he has become more himself and this... middle of paper... turns his head around his victory and doesn't seem happy. He was overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving and just wanted to be alone to talk to his campaign manager. This may reflect the goals of the mainstream party because it may not achieve the goals it told people it would achieve. McKay could fail if he goes back to acting as he pleases. “The Candidate” is the prime example of how elections are run, including campaign strategies, media, debates and discussions. Although Jarmen's campaign was not fully seen in the film, it was clear that he knew McKay was a threat. McKay's idea of ​​running a campaign included his personal touch of not listening to the campaign manager. Actually listening to what people want and need seems to get their attention and their vote; this is the strategy that won McKay the election.