Win or lose, these political neophytes leave nothing on the table.
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The midterm election year of 2018 in the United States was a monumental one for women’s voices in government. More women ran for office in that election than at any previous time in the nation’s history. While not all won the positions they sought, collectively, they made 2018 a watershed year for greater equality and diversity in politics at every level.
And She Could Be Next, a two-part documentary premiering Thursday, October 17, on MagellanTV, is a fast-paced account of six of these campaigns. The candidates are seen fundraising, boosting the spirits of volunteers, and, in some cases, feeding their own families amid all the conflicting priorities.
The candidates covered in this series are, alphabetically: Stacey Abrams, running for governor of Georgia; Bushra Amiwala, a university student vying for a seat on the Chicago School Board; Maria Elena Durazo, candidate for California State Senate representing Los Angeles; Veronica Escobar, Congressional candidate representing El Paso, Texas; Lucy McBath, running for the U.S. House of Representatives from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia; and Rashida Tlaib, seeking a U.S. House seat from Detroit.
Arriving October 17 on MagellanTV!
Yes, She Can
Watching this documentary, it’s easy to get caught up in the energy, drive, and sheer optimism needed to run for office as a novice and an outsider. For one thing, the time demands are relentless. We view the candidates learning on the fly to balance endless political demands, such as managing campaign staff and making personal appearances, with family responsibilities that cannot be set aside during the chaos of a campaign.
And, of course, there’s no escaping the rigors of raising money from small and mid-size donors. (Some of these candidates swore off receiving funds from corporate sponsors.) The pressure is nonstop; we see them on the phone continuously, wherever they might be, from home to office to car, persuading individuals to support their campaigns financially. When one candidate receives a pledge of $1,000, she runs, elated, through her campaign offices. She knows how essential these donations are for yard signs, flyers, T-shirts, and, of course, coffee and snacks for the volunteers!
And She Could Be Next serves as a rousing primer on democracy. It shows how individuals (in this case, women) who feel excluded from political “machines” and big-money influences can still make their voices heard. It highlights the efforts of ordinary people, often with no previous experience in politics, to create and maintain access to government, independent of lobbyists and special-interest groups.
Candidate Rashida Tlaib works while having dinner with her family.
We don’t see all of them win; in fact, we’re only present for one campaign success, when Tlaib wins her hard-fought primary race. After a long vigil checking poll results, by the end of the night we finally witness Tlaib and her crew of family and supporters breathe a huge sigh of relief. This cinematic journey captures the whirlwind of politics at the retail level.
The documentary is an excellent introduction for viewers who want to see the promise of democracy at a grassroots, person-to-person level. Well made and even inspirational, And She Could Be Next runs a winning campaign for viewers’ minds and hearts.
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Kevin Martin is Senior Writer and Associate Editor for MagellanTV. A journalist and communications specialist for many years, he writes on various topics, including Art and Culture, Current History, and Space and Astronomy. He is the co-editor of My Body Is Paper: Stories and Poems by Gil Cuadros (City Lights) and resides in Glendale, California.
Title Image source: Adobe Stock Images (generated by AI)
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