A film crew is visiting the quaint Midwestern town of Centerville to film a piece about "small town politics". Centerville is an amazing setting with its picture-perfect town square, "ma and pa" restaurants, 15 traffic lights, and friendly faces that say 'hello' as you pass them on the street. Unexpectedly, they encounter an astonishing change in the town's history. The mayor announces that he will not be running for re-election and instead they will elect their next mayor through a beauty pageant style event. Suddenly, Centerville becomes a place buzzing with enthusiasm as citizens embrace the idea, aspiring mayors throw their hats into the ring, and political campaigns are launched in anticipation of the Election Pageant. In the public eye, the candidates are charismatic, engaging, and out to make great change. Behind closed doors, hidden cameras catch temper tantrums, back stabbing, and jockeying for attention as the Election Pageant approaches. The Election Pageant is reminiscent of an "American Idol" show with Jerry Springer as master of ceremonies and the audience armed with electronic voting devices. The candidates boldly fight it out in categories such as "Handshaking", "Photo Op", and "Talent" in front of a live audience. When Jerry announces "and the winner is", things take an even more bizarre turn in this telling story of American politics.