Ep 2. The Candidate

Julia Sugarbaker and Suzanne Sugarbaker are having a heated discussion over lemon bars that Julia baked for her poker night with the girls, and which Suzanne accidentally consumed. As Mary Jo, Charlene and Anthony walk in, they notice the argument between the sisters and try to intervene.

Meanwhile, a local city council election race is heating up, and Charlton Haywood, a candidate for city council, arrives at the Sugarbaker's office to ask for Julia's help with his campaign. Charlton has impressed Julia with his sincere and honest approach to politics and she agrees to help him but only if he runs a clean campaign.

As Julia gets further involved in the campaign, she finds out that Charlton is not what he seems and has a troubling past. Charlene, who is an avid follower of news and politics, researches Charlton and finds out that he has flip-flopped on many issues and has a history of bankruptcy, failed businesses, and divorce.

Julia is disappointed in Charlton and begins to doubt whether she should continue to help him with his campaign. But when she confronts Charlton, he convinces her that he is sincere in his desire to make a difference in the community and that he has truly changed his ways.

Meanwhile, Suzanne has her own campaign to run. She decides to enter the Miss Sugarbaker Beauty Pageant, which has been a tradition in her family for generations. Suzanne is determined to win the pageant this year, and Charlotte agrees to help her prepare for the competition.

As the day of the pageant approaches, Suzanne becomes more and more nervous. She spends hours practicing her walk and poses, and even orders a custom-made sash with her name on it. But when she learns that one of the judges is her ex-husband, she panics and considers dropping out of the competition.

On the day of the pageant, Suzanne arrives at the venue dressed in a glittery gown and her custom-made sash. But as the competition progresses, she realizes that she is not as prepared as she thought she was. She struggles with the question-and-answer round, and when she takes the stage to do her walk, she trips and falls.

Despite her fall, Suzanne manages to get back up and finish the competition. When the judges announce the winner, Suzanne is shocked to discover that she has won the pageant. She is overjoyed and rushes to hug Charlene and Charlotte, who have been cheering her on from the audience.

In the end, Julia confronts Charlton and tells him that she cannot help him with his campaign anymore. Charlton is disappointed but Julia tells him that she has to stand by her principles and cannot support a candidate who is not honest or trustworthy. Charlton realizes his mistakes and apologizes to Julia for misleading her.

As the episode ends, Julia and Suzanne reconcile over their lemon bar feud. Suzanne admits that she took the bars by accident and apologizes to Julia, who forgives her. The sisters hug and make up, and the rest of the group joins in for a group embrace. They all head off to celebrate Suzanne's pageant win, except for Julia who heads home for the night.