Hiram McDaniels is arrested. Some digging reveals that he runs a political internet blog where he claims things would be better if he were mayor of Night Vale.
The city council wishes to outlaw involuntary breathing.
Word from our sponsor: Who Wants to Live Forever? Brought to you by Direct TV.
The emergency dream broadcast system is tested.
The mall's Santa has disappeared. The mall explains he is, in fact, a piece of performance art demonstrating the ephemerality of the materialistic ghosts we embrace in place of true spiritual meaning in our capitalist society.
The election heats up; Mayor Winchell declares that, not only is election season not for another three years, McDaniels cannot run due to being a prisoner, not being a citizen of Night Vale, and being a five-headed dragon. She also points out that grumbling on an internet blog is not an official declaration of candidacy. She faces opposition from protesters, who claim she is being racist against dragons.
Tropes present in The Candidate include:
- Extreme Omnivore: City Council eats bricks.
- Fantastic Racism:
- Cecil accuses Mayor Pamela Winchell of this when she says that a dragon can't run for mayor.
- He also mentions that ghosts at one point had to fight for the right to marry.
- Multiple Head Case: Cecil brings up a hypothetical opponent to Hiram McDaniels's mayoral candidacy who asks what would happen if his five heads couldn't agree with each other, or one of them was drunk on the job. Because Cecil is staunchly pro-McDaniels, he just shames this hypothetical opponent for being closed-minded.
- What Were They Selling Again?: The in-universe ad break consists of a lengthy diatribe for why living forever is a terrible idea and you shouldn't wish for it. This is, somehow, an advertisement for DirecTV.
