Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Known as AOC, Ocasio-Cortez was widely considered to be the reason for the rather lukewarm public reception to the film because of the polarizing nature of her personality. She was the only one of the candidates profiled in the film who actually won a seat in the election, and in the process became the youngest woman to serve in the United States Congress. AOC is better known for her social media presence than her Congressional presence and during the documentary was recognizable for her progressive platform that included a Green New Deal and Medicare for all. During the film although she was able to explain her platforms in detail she never actually got around to saying how she would fund them, which opened the door to much head-scratching from the less progressive members of her own party.
Amy Vilela
Vilela's congressional district, District 4 in the state of Nevada, is actually a relatively new one, created in 2010 and located in the center portion of the state. She ran against the incumbent candidate Kihuen during the Democratic primary, the only candidate to do so, making her election an apparent slam-dunk, until several other candidates later decided to throw their hats into the ring, and Vilela was defeated in the primary by Steven Horsford.
Cori Bush
Bush was running as a Democrat in the First District of Missouri which included the city of St. Louis. The worst-performing of the women featured in the documentary, she was resoundingly defeated by William Lacy Clay who had held the seat since 2001. Bush has already declared that she will run for the seat in 2020.
Paula Jean Swearengin
West Virginian Swearengin is better known as an environmental activist than a politician and her environmental activism is what actually drew her into the electoral race featured in the film. Like the other women in the film, she is a progressive Democrat and one of the first candidates to be supported by the Bernie Sanders-directed organization Brand New Congress which seeks to elect hundreds of new Congress members in line with Sanders' political manifesto. She received only thirty per cent of the vote in her primary and was roundly defeated but has announced her candidacy for senate in 2020.
