Knock Down the House is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Lears.[1] It revolves around the 2018 congressional primary campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin, four progressive Democrats endorsed by Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress who ran in that year's midterm elections.[2][3] The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019.[4][5] It was released on May 1, 2019, by Netflix [6] and received acclaim from critics.Synopsis
The film follows four female Democrats who decided to run for Congress in the 2018 United States elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia. The film charts their campaigns in their respective Democratic primaries. The four candidates each run grassroots campaigns against long-time incumbents.[7] Vilela, Bush, and Swearengin lost their primary elections, but Ocasio-Cortez won her primary and went on to win the general election.

However, two years later in 2020, during the next Congressional election cycle, Bush went on to win her primary and the general election in Missouri's 1st congressional district. Swearengin was the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's Senate race, where she lost to the incumbent by over 40 points. Four years later in 2024, Bush also lost renomination.