Movies like The Candidate (1972)
The best movies like The Candidate (1972) are Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), The Ugly American (1963) and The Campaign (2012). If The Candidate hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNetwork (1976)7.8/10 from 2,167 votes
- NewestElla McCay (2025)Released 2025
Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977)
After a senator suddenly dies after completing (and sealing) an investigation into the nuclear power industry, the remaining senator and the state governor must decide on a person who will play along with their shady deals and not cause any problems. They decide on Billy Jack, currently sitting in prison after being sent to jail at the end of his previous film, as they don't expect him to be capable of much, and they think he will attract young voters to the party.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Ugly American (1963)
An intelligent, articulate scholar, Harrison MacWhite, survives a hostile Senate confirmation hearing at the hands of conservatives to become ambassador to Sarkan, a southeast Asian country where civil war threatens a tense peace. Despite his knowledge, once he's there, MacWhite sees only a dichotomy between the U.S. and Communism. He can't accept that anti-American sentiment might be a longing for self-determination and nationalism. So, he breaks from his friend Deong, a local opposition leader, ignores a foreman's advice about slowing the building of a road, and tries to muscle ahead. What price must the country and his friends pay for him to get some sense?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Campaign (2012)
Two rival politicians compete to win an election to represent their small North Carolina congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisProtocol (1984)
A Washington waitress saves the Emir of Ohtar's life, launching her diplomatic career and a scandal.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ides of March (2011)
Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Contender (2000)
The vice president is dead, and as the president makes his choice for a replacement, a secret contest of wills is being waged by a formidable rival. When Senator Laine Hanson is nominated as the first woman in history to hold the office, hidden agendas explode into a battle for power.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Face in the Crowd (1957)
The rise of a raucous hayseed named Lonesome Rhodes from itinerant Ozark guitar picker to local media rabble-rouser to TV superstar and political king-maker. Marcia Jeffries is the innocent Sarah Lawrence girl who discovers the great man in a back-country jail and is the first to fall under his spell.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Best Man (1964)
The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-runners begin to decide how badly they want the job.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElla McCay (2025)
An idealistic young politician juggles familial issues and a challenging work life while preparing to take over the job of her mentor, the state’s longtime incumbent governor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Great McGinty (1940)
Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; but this candidacy requires marriage. His in-name-only marriage to honest Catherine proves the beginning of the end for dishonest Dan...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWag the Dog (1997)
During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President's adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisState of the Union (1948)
An industrialist is urged by Republican Party strategists to run for U.S. President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Front (1976)
A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBulworth (1998)
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpeechless (1994)
In the midst of election season in New Mexico, political speechwriters Julia Mann and Kevin Vallick begin a romance, unaware they are working for candidates on opposite sides.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWild in the Streets (1968)
Musician Max Frost lends his backing to a Senate candidate who wants to give 18-year-olds the right to vote, but he takes things a step further than expected. Inspired by their hero's words, Max's fans pressure their leaders into extending the vote to citizens as young as 15. Max and his followers capitalize on their might by bringing new issues to the fore, but, drunk on power, they soon take generational warfare to terrible extremes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
The World's Greatest Sinner (1962)
A bored insurance salesman quits his job to go into politics. He first starts preaching about how man is greater than he thinks and that man can live forever. He ends up forming his own political party, "The Eternal Man" party. He begins to be referred to as "God". Then he starts having doubts about the eternalness of man.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
All the President's Men (1976)
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBob Roberts (1992)
Millionaire conservative Bob Roberts launches an insurgent campaign against incumbent senator Brickley Paiste, firing up crowds at his rallies by singing '60s-style acoustic folk songs with lyrics espousing far-right conservative social and economic views.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThank You for Smoking (2005)
Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Parallax View (1974)
An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNetwork (1976)
When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWrong Is Right (1982)
Political double-talk, dirty tricks, hidden microphones, spy satellites, bugging the Oval Office and a nuclear bomb for sale are all ingredients in this swift, funny and frightening look at the possibilities in today's political arenas. Sean Connery stars as TV Newsman Patrick Hale on an international chase to track two suitcase sized nuclear weapons and to uncover the twisting maze of apparent involvement of US Government agencies.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeing There (1979)
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrimary Colors (1998)
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShampoo (1975)
On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
After the death of a United States Senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. The naive and earnest new senator soon finds himself battling political corruption.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdvise & Consent (1962)
Proposed by the President of the United States to fill the post of Secretary of State, Robert Leffingwell appears before a Senate committee, chaired by the idealistic Senator Brig Anderson, which must decide whether he is the right person for the job.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWise Blood (1979)
A Southerner--young, poor, ambitious but uneducated--determines to become something in the world. He decides that the best way to do that is to become a preacher and start up his own church.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Candidate?
The closest matches to The Candidate are Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), The Ugly American (1963) and The Campaign (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Candidate?
People who watched The Candidate most often go on to Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), The Ugly American (1963) and The Campaign (2012).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Candidate?
Network (1976), rated 7.8/10 by 2,167 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Candidate?
Ella McCay (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Candidate?
Yes: Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), The Ugly American (1963) and The Campaign (2012).
How are movies similar to The Candidate chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Candidate, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.