- And the names of the ones who have come before us and the names of those who have been taken from us.

We say their names, Sandra Bland.

- [Crowd] Sandra Bland.

- [Speaker] Samuel Debose.

- [Crowd] Samuel Debose.

- [Speaker] Walter Scott.

- [Crowd] Walter Scott.

- [Speaker] Sean Bell.

- [Crowd] Sean Bell.

- [Speaker] Eric Garner.

- [Crowd] Eric Garner.

- [Speaker] Rekia Boyd.

- [Crowd] Rekia Boyd.

- [Speaker] Greg Gunn.

- [Crowd] Greg Gunn.

- [Speaker] Trayvon Martin.

- [Crowd] Trayvon Martin.

- [Speaker] Amadou Diallo.

- [Crowd] Amadou Diallo.

- We stand in this place at this time to declare we done dying.

- [Crowd] We done dying!

- We done dying, we done dying.

We done dying, we done dying, we done dying.

- Police lives matter, you're right.

You're absolutely right.

[Man] That's right.

- All of our lives matter!

- [Man] Everybody's, everybody's, everybody's.

- I hate to hear them say that, too.

- Right, right.

- I hate that.

Born and raised here.

Our town is changing.

- It is, it's a sad thing, sad thing.

They're dividing all of us.

Thank you.

(horn blows) - Yeah, Trump!

(supporters cheering) (horns blowing) - [Supporter] Hey, hey, hurray!

- (bleep) Trump!

(bleep) Trump!

- Make America great again!

Get rid of Trump!

Get him outta there, get him out!

Get him out!

(horns blowing) - We're on fire today.

- Read a book, get an education.

Nobody cares.

- Electoral college!

- U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!

U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!

- I like the United States, too.

That's why-- - U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!

- You're old, white men.

We don't care what old, white men think.

- Socialism doesn't work!

- [Narrator] Three years ago, when we began studying political divides in America, we never imagined that Tom Carroll, Chairman of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party and Trump delegate, and Greg Edwards, the pastor and Progressive grassroots activist, would have so much in common.

- [Tom] The system is completely broken.

And it doesn't work for anybody.

- Right.

- I think that there's an establishment donor class in both parties.

And although they have differences in their political ideology, they're not as different as they like to make it out.

Because they live their lives.

They have their wealth and their influence and it doesn't change.

No matter what the economy is doing, they don't lose their power and influence.

- Well, the only thing more powerful than red and blue is green.

And green doesn't care about red and blue.

- That's right, that's right.

- The 1% can continue to fund both the Republican parties, and the Democratic parties, because at the end of the day, Tom, I really don't think they care.

- [Tom] That's right, that's what I just said.

- [Greg] They don't care.

- That's exactly right.

- I mean, someone that's living up in Bath, cleaning tables at a Walmart has more in common with the Puerto Rican barbershop owner over in Allentown.

Like it's not left and right, it's really top and bottom.

- Right.

As soon as we start dividing people in groups, be it color or ideology or anything else, that's when we fall apart.

And it's why George Washington warned about political parties.

- And here we are.

- Yeah.

- I'm a Democrat.

My fiance is a Republican.

My next door neighbor, they're sisters.

One's a Democrat and one's a Republican.

Down there, Republican, Democrat, Republican, Democrat.

And then another house is a Republican, Democrat.

- [Woman] Can you live without slitting each other's throats?

- No, we are fine.

Yes, we argue.

'Cause if Fox News is on and I don't like what they're saying, we argue.

It's just, that's just the way it is, but we're not gonna stop loving each other because of it.

- [Narrator] The Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania is a tiny region, but it plays an out-sized influence on our government.

They voted twice for Obama, then flipped to Trump in 2016.

It has solidly democratic, urban cores, suburbs that shift politically, and deep Republican farmland.

In many ways, the Valley has become the epicenter for our nation's search for identity.

- It was such an impressive plant.

Miles and miles along the river from the Koch Works on down and the Foundry, et cetera.

Almost everybody had somebody that worked in the steel.

My uncles and aunts and cousins, and a lot of other extended family members did, obviously.

There's so much history here about just the industrialization of America and building of the industrial in New York City with the skyscrapers and the bridges.

What, the George Washington Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge.

So many bridges and so many structures in America were built by Bethlehem Steel.

And it's just an amazing thought of all the tens of thousands of people that worked here and really built America.

My impression was they didn't worry about modernizing the plant.

There was the quote management and labor that didn't see the competition from Japan coming.

They were overpaying, I think.

You know, there's so many people that I know that had their homes here in Bethlehem.

And almost everyone I knew had somebody extended family that had a house at the Jersey shore, a house at the Poconos.

These people, they was paid well.

It was hard work, but they made a lotta money.

This is the quintessential sort of American story about what was going on in those days.

- [Narrator] After 140 years of production, Bethlehem Steel shut its doors in 1995.

Today, in its rusting shell, it's an industrial theme casino.

Economically, the Valley has reinvented itself.

Now it is home to large distribution centers for the likes of Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon and FedEx.

The Valley also produces candy, drinks and dog food.

Jobs, although plentiful, no longer offer the security or wages that the powerful unions helped to secure at the steel plant.

Today, workers are no longer helping to build some of America's most iconic structures.

Instead, they're sorting packages or making dog food.

- Isn't that amazing?

That northeastern Pennsylvania may have tipped the whole country with the way County residents who are normally very, very staunch Democrats, broke ranks and voted for Donald Trump.

Here comes Don of Clifford, right Don?

- [Don] Hey, can you hear me?

- [Sue] Yes I can, good morning.

- [Don] Good morning.

The place I worked at, there was 25 employees at the place I worked at.

Almost all of them were Democrat.

They all switched over Republican.

You know, we're getting more and more money taken out of our paycheck.

We haven't had a raise in four years.

Illegal people taking our jobs.

- Okay, Don, what kind of industry are you in where 25 people that you worked for switched to Republican?

- [Don] Healthcare.

- Healthcare?

- [Don] Yeah.

- The moment I thought that Donald Trump had a chance to not only win the Republican nomination, but to win the presidency happened right before the Pennsylvania primary.

It was the Monday before the primary.

Donald Trump came to the Mohegan Sun Arena.

The line to get into this event was all the way down the sidewalk around the building.

When I was there, I saw a guy I know named Ed Harry, who was the head of the Wilkes-Barre Labor Council.

And I said to him, "Ed, are you trying to "get yourself killed?

"What are you doing here?"

He said, "I'm for Donald Trump."

- She said, "Okay, Ed.

"How long have you been a Democrat?"

I said, "52 years."

She said, "As I understand it, you're gonna "change your registration to become a Republican?"

I said, "I think I already did that.

"And I did it so I could vote for Trump."

I was looking for someone who was a non-politician that thought the same way that I did.

'Cause I was primarily focused on re-energizing the workforce.

'Cause all this stuff I'd seen leave nothing's replaced and what do ya got?

You need three jobs to take the place of the one that you did have and still you're behind the eight ball because you're still not making a livable wage.

- We've been voting for liberal Democrats for the last 50 years and what have we got?

More of the same.

I voted for the lesser evil, as they would say, the liberals would say lesser evil to make you vote.

And I thought the lesser evil was Trump by far.

- What we did here in the Lehigh Valley was so uniquely driven by just local groups of people that just, you know, communicating amongst ourselves and saying, come out and do a flash mob, or go to an event or, you know, make some phone calls or knock on doors.

And you would see all these homemade signs and barns painted, you know.

Not paid for by the Trump campaign, that these people did themselves.

That's why Trump won in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan and places that you didn't expect them to win.

He didn't win by big margins, but enough people said, you know, enough's enough.

- [Narrator] After the furnaces of Bethlehem Steel went cold, its predominantly white workforce fled the city.

Downtown Bethlehem is now over 50% Latinx and the changes have exposed fault lines within the community.

- [Activists] This is what community looks like!

This is what community looks like!

This is what community looks like!

- [Narrator] Just one mile away from the steel stacks, the police shot and killed an unarmed Latino father of three.

- [Leader] Say his name!

- [Activists] Joseph Santos!

- [Leader] Say his name!

- [Activists] Joseph Santos!

- [Leader] Say his name!

- [Activists] Joseph Santos!

- [Leader] Say his name!

- [Activists] Joseph Santos!

- (crying) Baby.

No, no, no, he took your father away.

- Maybe he shoulda got down when the cops told him to get the (bleep) down!

He would still be alive today.

- [Interviewer] Can you tell me what happened?

What made you afraid?

- Because all these people were putting up the middle finger, and I don't like that.

- We are demanding justice for Joseph and healing for our entire community.

- [Activists] Yes!

- And for those politicians would-bes and wannabes that won't do justice or speak up or speak out until there's a community uprising-- - [Activists] Yeah!

- Remember the revolution always ain't televised.

I've got three boys that range in age from 21 to 30.

My greatest fear, my greatest fear, was having to bury them or having them not come home.

And so when my sons would leave for school, I had to give them 10 rules.

When you get pulled over by the police, say this, don't say this, don't do this, do this.

That was common practice in my household.

So what happens is, because I want my black boys to be safe and to get home alive and not be assaulted or murdered, or the victim of police brutality, I clip their wings.

I'm the only person amongst the males of my mother's children, who has not served time in prison.

And that's not uncommon.

So for me, criminal justice reform, mass incarceration, those are bread and butter issues, because those are issues of life and death.

(activists cheering) - [Narrator] While exploring the ideological divides in the Valley, the area's seven term Republican Congressman Charlie Dent resigns.

- [Woman] His retirement means Democrats will likely target that open seat.

- [Narrator] Greg Edwards immediately throws his hat into the ring.

♪ Woke up this morning with my mind ♪ - [Narrator] But he's not alone.

Seven Democrats announced their candidacy, all eager to flip the seat.

The front runners include John Morganelli, a long-time district attorney and pro-life Democrat.

And Susan Wild, a corporate lawyer who receives backing from Democrats in Washington.

- Ooh, 'cause all these doorbells don't work.

- [Narrator] They believe she can present as a Progressive in the primary without advocating for fundamental change.

- [John] We are going to win!

- [Narrator] Both of their campaigns lag far behind Edwards in volunteers and fundraising.

The energy around Greg Edwards' campaign captures the attention of Senator Bernie Sanders.

(supporters cheering) - [Greg] Senator Bernie Sanders!

(supporters cheering) - Thank you, Allentown!

At a time in Congress when we have so many members there working night and day on behalf of the wealthy and the powerful, we need Greg Edwards from the Seventh District here in Pennsylvania.

(supporters cheering) - The Republican party has done a great job at using race to galvanize the very worst part of people's beings.

And I think that that was, if you will, the dog whistle that got folk up and out of their seats and in those voting booths to vote for Donald Trump.

- All right, you voted for me?

- Yeah.

- Good.

I'm gonna make you proud.

And I have seen people who are fired up.

There's nothing like people who believes that their future and their livelihood and life are on the line.

(supporters chanting) That's unstoppable.

I think the Republican party knows that.

The Republican party knows that we're coming.

- I had one AM, that trip to Ireland that we went to in June.

And we were at JFK Airport in June going over to Ireland and they had these in the airport at the gift shop.

And I'm like, I have to buy that.

When I was involved pre-primary with the Trump campaign, we heard that there was gonna be a rally at Westchester University the night before the primary.

So we went down and he signs my rally sign.

And then it's now framed here in the living room.

So yeah, I'm a little crazy.

That's just my father and mother around their 40th anniversary.

My dad was in the Air Force.

When my parents got married, we lived in a mobile home that was smaller than my bedroom is now.

They came from nothing, who worked their whole lives to have a very successful and happy life.

It's three of us boys.

It was taken probably very shortly before Michael's passing.

Just a month short of three.

Yeah, and I was just a few days away from being a five.

So I was four, he was technically two, yeah, so.

You know, we knew there was something wrong in terms of the situation.

We knew he was unexpectedly sick.

And then it was a very sudden passing.

He had been a very healthy and active child.

So it was very, very tragic and tough on my mom and parents and the whole family.

You know, my parents didn't force their values upon me, but I learned them through their actions.

That's probably why I'm Conservative because of my parents.

(crowd chattering) - Trump forever, ha ha!

Trump forever!

(laughing) Love him!

- He's a winner, he's a winner!

I was a winner last month of the gun raffle.

- I could've used the money, but-- - Yeah, that's what my wife, my wife was kicking it back, she goes, "Should we get the money "or should we get the gun?"

I said, "Nah, you wanna get the gun."

(laughing) ♪ No time for losing 'cause we are the champions ♪ ♪ Of the world - Thank you very much.

(cheering) Thank you, we are the champions.

Donald Trump has saved our Republican party by making it relevant again.

(audience clapping) There is no obvious electoral college roadmap to Donald Trump's reelection in 2020, without the 20 electoral votes of Pennsylvania.

Where are we gonna fight this battle for Pennsylvania?

It's gonna be fought right here in the Lehigh Valley.

Be happy warriors.

'Cause this is not fun business a lot of times.

We're up against people who know precisely what they're doing.

They're designed to create a political culture that convinces you to give up.

We don't return the fire, we win the battles.

Take comfort in this community where we retreat to and we energize, and we recommit ourselves to the fact that the largest and most politically successful grassroots movement in American history, period, is right here.

Thank you.

(audience clapping) - We believe that the best way to win this battle is to win elections.

If they win this election, I would predict that they're going to double down on their promises.

And double downing on their promises to take our rights away could result in some really horrible stuff.

I'm hoping it doesn't happen.

I think the best way to preserve our Liberty is for people to vote, so we win elections and we fight these battles at the ballot box and not in other ways, which is what I fear if the left wins.

(upbeat salsa music) - [Narrator] As the race advanced, Edwards and his volunteers took to the streets.

They begin outreach in the Valley's rapidly growing Latinx communities.

They believe that awakening this sleeping giant will not only help his bid for Congress, but also the Democrat in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

(speaking in foreign language) - Bye bye.

- Bye.

We investigated the turnout, the performance in the Democratic party of the Latino community.

At best on midterms, you can expect 10 to 12% turnout, which is dismal.

Because if you look at the other end of that, that's 90 to 88% non turnout, and these are registered voters.

- (speaking in foreign language) All right.

We gotta get rid of this guy in Washington, D.C.

So I'm running for Congress.

But you like him, you may like him, I don't know, maybe you like him.

- Yeah.

- Okay, well we gotta get you registered to vote.

- [Woman] Register, register, register.

- Seriously so you can vote November.

- All right.

- Yes.

- You think you can make the $15 raise?

- Oh, oh, so you're playing me man.

Why you Trumping me man, why you Trumping me, man?

- You think you can do that?

What I'm saying, you think you can do it?

- Come on, of course.

- You can?

- Are you registered, you registered to vote?

- No, I don't vote.

- Oh you don't vote?

- But I'm registered.

- [Greg] Well okay, but are you a Democrat?

- No.

- [Greg] What are you?

- I don't know.

- You don't know what you are?

- I don't know nothing about that (bleeps) though.

(laughs) - No, I understand.

We have to stop giving away our power.

We gotta get out the vote.

(speaking in foreign language) All right.

- [Ed] There's a combination of factors that can make this a watershed moment in Democratic politics in the Lehigh Valley.

There's a person of color running for Congress in Lehigh Valley.

That's never happened before.

- I need your help!

- There's a lot of people who are involved in this campaign who have never been involved in other campaigns.

That, too, was encouraging.

So there seems to be some energy here that can really change the way that Lehigh Valley looks, and really change the way the Latino community perceives itself.

If they see themselves making a difference, and you've swung an election, you've got power.

- Okay, pal.

U.S.A. all the way, right?

- [Driver] Okay.

- You got it, love you.

Hey, thank you.

Oh!

- Well, my name's Mike Garcia.

Back in 1922, my father fled Mexico by train.

It was a cattle train and they fled because it was a Christian more or less, an uprising and all.

They were murdering the priests and the nuns were being raped and all.

And family members were assassinated.

It was illegal.

However, he became an American citizen.

- [Interviewer] What do you say to like, let's say, El Salvadorian immigrants who are fleeing gang violence or Honduran immigrants?

- Well, you know, I feel bad for them.

However, we gotta really hold them back and build a wall.

If we don't build that wall, we're gonna be in trouble.

Trump's right about building the wall.

- Bethlehem's really interesting.

I think every wave of immigration that came here, worked at the steel, you know, from the 1800s on.

You have all the Lithuanians and Russians and Polish and Irish and Italians.

It's a very mixed population and it's a good place to live.

I love the corner at Hayes and Fourth Street there.

There are like five Catholic churches within a hundred yards of each other.

One was the Italian church, the Polish church.

The Irish church eventually became the Portuguese church, German church, et cetera.

They're all down there.

One of the things we're doing with the South Bethlehem Historic Society is trying to preserve the history and the neighborhoods as best we can.

And this sort of urban renewal that occurred in Bethlehem really sort of was a disaster.

And they tore down that whole block up ahead here, where they built what was a mall.

In my opinion, the political class in this city has been just bought out by the developers.

The developers come in and pad the lining of the city council members and the mayor so that they just do whatever they want as opposed to what the citizens want.

A lot of historic stuff has been destroyed recently.

And I'm on the South Bethlehem Historic Society with one of the reasons why is to try to help stop some of that and respect the sustainability and the livability of the city.

- [Interviewer] Now you sound like you're coming right out of the Progressive playbook.

- No, no.

- Did you read that "Huffington Post" article about like the framing of the race?

The term, burn it all down populism?

I was like, wow.

Yeah, they know our Wednesday plans.

- Universal healthcare, higher wages, getting rid of corporate money-- - [Narrator] Progressives believe that Greg's broad coalition of diverse voters could turn this purple district deep blue.

(speaking in foreign language) Before he could challenge his Republican opponent, he had to get past the gatekeepers of his own party.

- It's more than saying I'm a Progressive.

The D-trip, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had conversations about how to get me out the race.

And when we confronted them, they said, yeah, we were trying to do that.

They were trying to clear the pathway for a candidate that was more representative of their liking and more, you know, more aligned with the establishment.

- I'm so, so honored to be here today with all of you and with Susan on behalf of our over 5 million members across this country.

Emily's List is so proud to have your back.

(clapping) - This is about reproductive choice.

This is about women's health issues.

And these are the issues that matter, some of the issues that matter, so, so much to me, and one of the reasons that I am running for Congress.

So thank you both from the bottom of my heart.

(clapping) In the week before the announcement of Emily's List million dollar investment in Susan, we had just found out she fired almost all of her staff.

She was out of money.

You know, her campaign had pretty much withered.

And then she got this huge influx of cash after running a really disorganized and terrible campaign.

And then she gets bailed out with a million bucks.

- We're gonna see a blue wave and they're gonna be wearing pink hats.

(clapping) - A Wall Street-backed candidate, it's not going to behoove them to be at the table and talk about poverty, talk about race, talk about mass incarceration.

Because what we have seen is that Wall Street isn't red or blue, it's green.

You would talk about a woman's right to choose.

That's safe.

LGBTQ issues and issues of marriage equality, there's people on both sides of the aisle who have come out in favor of marriage equality.

And I don't think that those are to a necessary extent, controversial issues.

(chattering) And the ultimate people that get, once again, disenfranchised are the working poor, who you never talk about in a campaign.

Because we think that poor folks don't vote.

So poor people are not popular, but poverty is very profitable.

Because ultimately this is a political system that thrives and eats off of poor folk.

- This is on OpenSecrets.

This is Bridge PAC, right?

And this is when you look, the recipients.

You go down there.

Susan Wild.

Now she says, "I don't take corporate money."

Okay, but the PAC is getting money who's giving it to Susan.

And this money is originating from places like Boeing, who you know, these are the people who profit from selling arms to the Middle East, Comcast, Cox, Duke Energy, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed Martin, JP Morgan, RJ Reynolds Tobacco.

You know, I find it hypocritical to just sort of talk and talk and talk about campaign finance when that's where this is coming from.

- I think politics is a joke because it don't matter how many votes get put in, nothing changes.

'Cause most of the politicians are dirty.

- And you'll see, I mean, people in politics who are so Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama.

But to me that didn't change anything, and I'm black.

So I don't know, like people want better things, but nothing's going to change, man.

We could have 15 lady presidents next, it's gonna be the same thing over.

We could have Spanish president, black president, blue president, brown president, gay president, transsexual president, as long as they got money, it's gonna be the same road over and over, man.

- They're all bribed.

They've all been profiled.

So when they need legislation passed, they just go in and put the folder out and say, here's what we know.

This is the vote we need.

That's another big thing that I liked about Trump.

He used his own money 'cause he doesn't wanna owe anybody.

Give me somebody like that, I'll vote for him.

I don't care what party they belong to.

That's what I want.

That's what I want our government to be again.

(diner patrons chattering loudly) - What he's done for limited government, reducing regulations, lowering taxes, those are all things that Conservatives and Libertarians should like.

- Yes.

- So even the moderate Republicans who were the never Trumpers, they support his policies.

- Yes, yes.

- And the hypocritical thing about that is, the Republican elites class of pundits, et cetera, they hate Trump, but for 30 or 40 years they've been saying they wanted the things that Trump is giving us.

God works in mysterious ways and God uses people.

And you know.

- [Narrator] Just like Greg Edwards, Tom Carroll was also at odds with the establishment.

The state Republican party threw their support behind Marty Nothstein.

But most members of the Tea Party solidly supported a diehard Trumper, Dean Browning.

- You take that or I'm taking it out.

Pull it out right now.

- Why?

- I don't want it by my truck.

You're being ignorant.

- Huh?

You know what, I'll move on.

I apologize, listen.

- No you don't.

- I didn't even know we did that.

Did you see that?

- That's why I put 'em out.

That's why I was putting 'em out.

- I don't believe Marty Nothstein is a true Conservative.

On his Facebook page recently, he came out as a social justice warrior, which couldn't be farther from a Conservative standpoint.

- [Emcee] I would love to take this moment to introduce Marty Nothstein.

- [Man] I've never heard him speak before.

- [Woman] I've seen him smile now.

- So thanks everyone for coming out.

It's my pleasure and honor to be here and say hello to everybody.

As Brian mentioned, we do have a big election November 6th.

We all know that.

- My gut is telling me to be very concerned about Marty Nothstein because we traced the money of the PAC money that was coming to him.

And it was significantly run by people out of Washington, D.C. and that never Trump establishment.

And that concerns us because when he goes down to Washington and when there's a vote, and when these people call him and say, you can't vote that way and you're gonna have to go back to your constituents and tell them why you're not doing it and we'll tell you how to do that.

You tried, but you couldn't make it because.

I just don't know that he has the moral integrity to stand up to hundreds of thousands of dollars coming from the never Trump establishment.

- When Charlie Dent decided not to run.

the first person I thought of was Tom Carroll.

He's a good man.

He's a smart man.

He's a compassionate man.

He's a sensible man.

And he'd represent this area great.

- [Interviewer] Why do you think he didn't run?

- Money, money.

It's all about money.

It's all about cash.

It's all about doneros.

You know, money talks and (bleeps) walks.

All right?

Money talks and (bleeps) walks, Mo.

- [Interviewer] Money talks and (bleeps) walks.

That could be the new title of the film!

- Hey, whatever.

- [Interviewer] There ya go.

- [Narrator] While the voters seem bitterly divided, corporate money is not.

Research shows that more than 300 companies funnel money into both Susan Wild and Marty Nothstein's campaigns.

Their donations are hidden behind altruistic-sounding Super PAC names meant to give the impression that they represent the voters and not companies.

- [Commercial Announcer] While Donald Trump and his destructive agenda, meet Susan Wild.

- [Narrator] As the super PAC money floods into the Valley, the airwaves and mailboxes are awash with negative ads.

They primarily target Wild and Nothstein's opponents.

- [Commercial Announcer] Desperate Dean Browning, lying about Olympic champion, Marty Nothstein.

Desperate, liberal, tax hiker.

- [Commercial Announcer] Morganelli opposes a woman's right to choose.

- They're deliberately being divisive because it's useful politically.

Keeping us fighting, keeping us skeptical of one another.

That's how they keep the merry go round going.

- Negative from Susan.

So Greg Edwards is a big, bad piggy bank smasher.

So line your family's pockets, putting a charity into debt.

It's gross.

It's gross.

So this is, this is Susan on John.

John is a Trump monster.

He's a wolf in sheep's clothing.

This one is paid for by Women Vote.

This is Emily's List, independent expenditure.

Petty, petty, petty, petty waste of money.

And this one round of mail probably cost more than the median income in our district.

So while people are literally making the decision if they're going to refill their prescription or buy groceries, this is the (bleeps) that they're getting in their mailbox.

A Photoshopped MAGA hat.

If we don't pull this out, it really solidifies that our elected officials are really just puppets or they're bought and paid for.

You know, and that's terrifying.

That's terrifying what that actually means for democracy, and how our government is really supposed to function.

(speaking in foreign language) - Today is the day.

(speaking in foreign language) It will be very surreal to see my name on a ballot.

- [Supporter] Hey, hey, hey!

- Hey, hey, hey!

How are you?

- How are you, are you doing hello?

- I'm doing well, absolutely.

- Good luck today.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

- Go get 'em.

- Extremely low turnout.

So where are all these people who are always complaining about things?

And why aren't they voting, hm?

- Get out and vote.

Your vote is your voice.

And your voice can only be heard if you vote!

Candidates are all of our people have healthcare.

We need to make sure our children have universal preschool.

We need to make sure we can go to college!

We've got 60 more minutes until the polls close and we need you!

We need you to get out and vote for Greg Edwards!

Don't allow politicians to rule your life!

Don't allow them to make you invisible.

My name is Greg Edwards.

I'm running for Congress.

(supporters cheering) Hey, hey man, how are you?

Doing well, doing fine.

(supporters cheering) - [Narrator] The results started to trickle in.

Tea Party candidate, Dean Browning, lost to Marty Nothstein by just 300 votes.

- [Chanting Supporters] Marty, Marty, Marty!

(people chatting loudly) - Hey, hey, yo!

Wild is first!

- Susan Wild just overtook Morganelli.

- [Narrator] Big money won the Democratic primary as well.

Susan Wild defeated Greg Edwards by 2,500 votes.

- This is a little bit surreal for me.

I truly would not be here if it were not for the support of Emily's List.

They have been there for me.

They have answered every email, every phone call, every text and just absolutely brought an amazing strength to me during this.

There are a lot of elected officials here who endorsed me.

Tom Mueller, former County Executive, Mike Schlossberg, state representative-- (clapping) - [Supporters] Yes, yes.

- So here we are.

- Here we are.

- We are here.

- Now I have some comments made.

But I'm gonna throw them to the wind for a second and say how incredibly proud I am of you all.

(supporters clapping) - [Woman Supporter] We love you.

- We were outspent four to one, but we out raised them.

We continued to be anchored in our Progressive platform.

And we brought folk together that normally would never be together.

And we have loved each other.

We've gotten on each other's nerves.

(supporters laughing) We did that.

You did that, you did that.

(supporters clapping) So all is not loss and tomorrow we will congratulate the winner, okay?

'Cause that's what we do.

But we keep the movement alive.

(supporters clapping) Ya'll ready to do this?

- [Supporters] Yeah!

- Ya'll ready to do this?

- [Supporters] Yes!

♪ Woke up this morning with my mind ♪ ♪ Staying on freedom ♪ Woke up this morning with my mind ♪ ♪ Staying on freedom ♪ Halleluh, halleluh, hallelujah ♪ All right!

(bluegrass music) - [Narrator] In a bitter and ugly battle, Susan managed to become Pennsylvania's first Congresswoman.

Riding the blue wave to victory, she was helped by the work that Greg and his volunteers put in driving turnout in the urban corners.

As the 2020 election approaches, we returned to the Valley to witness a battle shaping up to be one of the most divisive in our history.

- Key battleground is, as ever, Pennsylvania, which was won by President Trump in 2016.

Is this the battleground for 2020?

- It is, because what Democrats learned in 2016 is that they can't count on Florida and North Carolina.

So they need Pennsylvania.

- [Reporter] In the Lehigh Valley, a region once again in the spotlight for another presidential election.

- [Supporter] Everyone registered to vote?

- Yes, thank you.

(gospel congregational singing) - [Narrator] Greg Edwards has returned to work as a community organizer and pastor.

He has been the pastor of Resurrected Life Community Church in downtown Allentown for the past 18 years.

(enthusiastic gospel singing) - Amen everyone, the Lord is good.

Amen, good morning, Resurrected Life Community Church.

What led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?

They were fine as long as he was healing, raising the dead, turning the water into wine, walking on the water, everybody was fine.

But I'm going to tell you, the triggered event when he began to mess with the money.

Jesus walks in, he overturns the money, changes tables and says, "My house "shall be a house of prayer."

This brother got to go.

He gotta go.

We were even okay with him saying he's the son of God.

'Cause we can just fix it up he's got out of his mind.

He's out there a little bit.

As long as you're singing hymns, but you're not interrupting a narrative that's dominant, you're not going to threaten the empire.

But the moment you stand up and you begin to speak truth to power.

The moment you stand up and you challenge an unjust empire built on an unjust economy, you got to go.

And I'm here to tell you, if you have ever felt like giving up, don't you give up.

Don't you give up!

Don't you give up!

Don't you give up!

Don't you give up!

(gospel music) - Hallelujah, Father God, we bless you-- (speaker drowned out by singing) - Us versus them.

And when we have us versus them, no one really gives a damn about the wes.

And the wes are the people specifically in this district who by and large are making 16, 17, $18,000 a year.

My loyalty are to people who are struggling.

My loyalty is to people beyond party.

Dr. King sat down a bunch of his leaders.

He sat down Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond.

He sat all of them down before he was assassinated.

And he says, "If I should be murdered, "if something should happen to me, "they're gonna come to you.

"And they're going to ask you to run for office.

"Don't do it.

"Because if you run for office, "they will control the narrative, and that will be "the end of the Civil Rights Movement.

"Because as soon as they have you, they have you.

"And your vote and your voice will mean very little, "because they will be paying your salary."

And so he said it's hard to be a prophet on the payroll.

You have to decide whether you wanna be on the payroll or whether you wanna be a prophet.

- [Interviewer] And that's the pressure you are in right now?

- Arguably yes, yeah arguably, yeah.

- Final hours of this thing.

- [Narrator] While Greg contemplates how to most effectively use his political capital, Tom throws his hat into the ring.

He decides to run, to become North Hampton County's District Attorney.

(patrons chattering loudly) - I was shaking babies and kissing hands.

(laughing) And I promised a lot of dog walking.

Is that working now, or did I blow it out?

Hello?

Okay, you hear me?

All right.

The first thing I want to do is thank God for his blessings.

(supporters clapping) And before I get started, I want to introduce everyone to my mom, Marie Carroll.

(supporters clapping) And Kyle referred to a lot of trials that we had.

My father passed away just about two months ago.

We know that he was watching upon us today as well.

We are in a battle to save our nation and we're gonna start with the campaign to get President Trump reelected in 2020.

(supporters cheering) (patrons chattering) I was invited to go to SCI Phoenix, which is Pennsylvania's largest state prison, and address 400 inmates.

We talked a lot about what we all have in common, dignity and individual rights, and the things that they're all really concerned about when they get out, that they're not overburdened by a system that is not respecting their dignity.

Standing ovation with enthusiasm that I haven't seen at any of the Tea Party events that I've had.

I did run into Greg, yes.

I had known of him.

He came to me and said, "We have somebody in common."

He told me that the people that have been filming us for the last couple of years, a couple of years now is it?

Had spoke very highly of me.

And he just wanted to tell me hello.

And he actually gave me his card and said we should talk.

And I said, as soon as the election's over, we'll meet and get together.

(jazz swing music) - Years ago, you had your opinion, I had my opinion.

Obviously there were differences because of different political philosophies, but we sat down and we negotiated.

We talked, we compromised.

- We're putting party above country when we should be putting country above party.

And I think that we've kinda lost the age where politicians were able to really stand up to their leadership and say, this is what I know is right.

No matter what my bosses think.

- We're both not listening.

And we always say the other side isn't compromising.

Well, you know what?

A lot of times we all don't compromise because we believe so strongly in what we, you know, how do you compromise?

Because we all believe so strongly in what we believe in.

- We just need to all stand together, no matter where you're from, what breed, whether you're Hispanic, black, white, purple, orange, I don't care.

We're all Americans.

We need to stand up for the right of this country to continue our process.

- There's something that we both agree on, is criminal justice reform.

And the relationship to our mindset is, it's about individual liberty and dignity.

The other day, we had 87 cases on the list.

I mean you now have the children, they're either in foster care or-- - [Man] Vote Trump!

Vote Trump!

(both men laughing) - Well you don't have to convince me of that.

(both men laughing) - What do you think about the elimination of judicial discretion through mandatory minimum sentences?

- I have never liked mandatory minimum sentences.

I don't-- - Well good, we agree, we agree.

We agree on that.

- Well that's why they were struck down here in Pennsylvania, and there were more Democrats supporting that than there were Republicans in those days.

- Yes, our communities are very aware of the Democratic party's involvement, landmark legislation that was sanctioned also by Joe Biden.

- He should be on the bottom of their list.

At least from what I would think.

- Ya think, ya think?

We agree on that, too.

There's two points that we agree on.

Absolutely.

- What did he say the one time when he said, "You can't go into a 7-11 and not have "someone with an Indian accent serve you a Slurpee."

This is what the man said.

I mean, I would probably be beat up if I said something like that, right?

- Right, right.

In order to function in this experiment called America, there's gotta be respectful communication.

In a democracy with such pluralism around culture and religion and race and political ideology, and no one group or person gets their way.

I mean, that's kind of a hard thing to do if you don't have some construct of conversations and do it civilly.

I don't see how you forge a more perfect union without conversation.

And food is always a good starter, Tom.

- Yeah, that's true.

Good luck.

- Yeah, good luck to you.

- Yeah.

- Good luck to both of us.

- Yes.

22's gonna be a nightmare.

- Well, why don't you go-- - I probably should go 78.

- 78, I'd go 78, I wouldn't go up 22.

(bluegrass music)