 A Florida con man named Thomas Jefferson Johnson uses the passing of the longtime Congressman from his district, Jeff Johnson (who died of a heart attack while having sex with his secretary), to get elected to the United States Congress as a freshman Congressman, where the money flows from lobbyists. Omitting his first name, and abbreviating his middle name, he calls himself "Jeff" Johnson. He then manages to get on the ballot by pitching a seniors organization, the Silver Foxes, to nominate him as their candidate for office.
Once on the election ballot, he uses the dead Congressman's old campaign material and runs a low budget campaign that appeals to name recognition, figuring most people do not pay much attention and simply vote for the "name you know." He wins a slim victory and is off to Washington, a place where the "streets are lined with gold."
Initially, the lucrative donations and campaign contributions roll in, but as he learns the nature of the con game in Washington D.C., he starts to see how the greed and corruption makes it difficult to address issues such as campaign finance reform, environmental protection, and the possibility that electric power companies may have a product that is giving kids in a small town cancer.
In trying to address these issues, Congressman Johnson finds himself double-crossed by the Chairman of the Committee on Power and Industry, Rep. Dick Dodge. Johnson decides to fight back the only way he knows how: with a con. Johnson succeeds and exposes Dodge as corrupt. As the film ends, it appears likely that Johnson will be thrown out of Congress for the manner in which he was elected, but he defiantly declares, "I'm gonna run for President!" then breaking the fourth wall.
What does Johnson start to see making it difficult to address campaign issues ? Why did Thomas encourage people to vote for the name they recognized? What does Johnson expose his double crosser as? Which organization did Thomas get to nominate him as their candidate? How does Johnson fight back against his double crosser? How did Johnson get on the election ballot? Who decides they are going to run for president at the end? Thomas Jefferson Johnson's first "career path" was what before deciding to run for office? What recognition does Johnson's low budget campaign appeal to? What senior's organization does Johnson pitch? With what luxury is Washington described as? How is Washington D.C. described, according to the story? What was the longtime Congressman doing when he died? Who was the Chairman of Power and Industry? Who does Johnson expose as a corrupt politician? How did the original Jeff Johnson die? What could be giving small kids cancer? Who double crosses Johnson? How was Thomas able to save money during his campaign? What does Johnson say makes addressing issues difficult? Where was the freshman Congressman from, according to the story? From which state is Thomas? What does Thomas believe are barriers to making changes as a politician in D.C.? Whose death does Thomas Johnson use to get elected? What may electric power companies in small towns be giving kids ? Which committee did Dodge chair? How much of a victory did Thomas have when he ran for Congress? Jeff Johnson wants to run for office under his newly abbreviated name.  Why does he believe that this will help him win the election? Who double-crosses Thomas?