Academy Award winner Robert Redford stars as Bill McKay, an idealistic young activist who agrees to run for elected office, hoping to use the campaign to bring important issues into the public debate. But the truth gets buried as the political process transforms McKay into The Candidate.When McKay's honesty and integrity captivate the electorate's attention, his long-shot candidacy attracts the attention of the party machine, and McKay must decide whether he can effect a greater change as a part of the government ... or retain his integrity and lose.