This case explores the political campaign of Shelane Etchison, a pioneering U.S. Army veteran and double-degree Harvard graduate who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District in 2024. Seeking office for the first time, Etchison ran as an unaffiliated candidate, without major-party support. Etchison saw a unique opportunity to challenge an entrenched Republican incumbent by tapping into broad discontent with U.S. politics, but she faced significant difficulties including the need to petition for ballot access, fundraising challenges, and staffing problems. The case examines how Etchison put her campaign together, and her strategy for success, and the inspiration that lay behind her run.