Marlena Cooper is the first black Democratic candidate in the Republican County of Gregg, East Texas. Her campaign against Jay Dean unfolds as a portrait of two communities divided by race, faith, and ideology.
The film captures the tense months leading up to the Trump Election through the eyes of Marlena Cooper and Jay Dean, but also devout evangelicals, gun enthusiasts, veterans, cheerleaders, and activists. Debates over white supremacy, abortion, guns, and faith reveal the fractures and fervor defining today’s America.
Echoing Tocqueville’s classic reflection on American democracy, the film becomes a visceral journey into the future of a nation still wrestling with its ideals.