It's 1994, and the Republican Revolution is on its way. Democratic Party strategist, Melissa Carnes, a fierce, combative woman in the male-dominated world of high politics, heads to her home state of Ohio to resuscitate the floundering Senate campaign of Kyle Porter, a successful entrepreneur running for public office for the first time. Confident and professionally successful, Mel nonetheless wrestles with personal doubts and the legacy of her dead mother as she handles office intrigue, a looming scandal, and an undisciplined candidate. An intimate portrait of the power struggles both great and small that interweave the insular world of election campaigns, 1994 provides an unblinking look into the high stakes battles of a U.S. Senate race as experienced by a 29 year-old woman fighting to maintain the respect and obedience of her colleagues, balance life and career, rediscover her commitment to a better world, and revenge herself against an opposing campaign manager who raped a friend