American Candidate is an American reality television series broadcast by Showtime. The series premiered on August 1, 2004, and concluded with its tenth episode on October 10, 2004. The series depicted a competition among twelve diverse contestants for a $200,000 reward. The contestants were required to travel across the United States in order to compete in a series of politically-themed challenges reminiscent of a political campaign. These challenges tested the candidates' presidential qualifications and qualities. Each week, a contestant was eliminated through means of audience participation and polling. Whichever contestant remained at the end of competition received the monetary reward in addition to a national platform. The series was hosted by American television presenter Montel Williams.