Handy Harrison (Ray Romano) is a small town plumber in the town of Mooseport, who is completely oblivious to the marriage desires of his long-term girlfriend and blithely accepts the status-quo. Mooseport's small-town charm lures ex-president Monroe Cole (Gene Hackman) to the area for retirement, creating a buzz of excitement for the entire town. Conflict ensues when the current town mayor dies, leaving a void in the local government. No one in the town desires to run for the office, and someone enters Harrison's name into the running without his knowledge. Ex-president Cole decides to run for office, and as Harrison makes the decision to remove himself from the race the ex-president begins to court Harrison's girlfriend. In an attempt to win both the election and his girlfriend back, Harrison enters the political race of his life.