[[Image:TheWestWing.JPG|thumb|300px|''The West Wing'' title screen]]

The '''[[U.S. presidential election]] of [[2006]]''' is a fictional event portrayed during the sixth and seventh seasons on the [[United States of America|American]] [[television]] show ''[[The West Wing (television)|The West Wing]].''

After the votes were counted, Representative [[Matt Santos]] won a narrow 272-266 electoral victory over Senator [[Arnold Vinick]].

==Background==
{{spoiler-blank|Plot details from previous episodes of ''The West Wing'' follow. Plot details of future episodes are not discussed.}}

[[Image:Tww live debate1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The live debate was a major shift, both in reality and the ''West Wing'' universe.]]

In reality, the first American presidential election was held in [[1789]]. Since then, the elections have been held every four years, beginning retroactively with the year [[1788]]. Therefore, an election was held in 2004 and one is scheduled for 2008, but there is no presidential election scheduled for the years in between. It would appear that, in the world of The West Wing, the first presidential election was held in either [[1787]] or [[1791]]. However, it is widely thought by some viewers that, because history up until around the era of [[Richard Nixon]] seems to be much the same in ''The West Wing'' as in established history, that, following Nixon's resignation, the Constitution was amended and a presidential election was held in [[1974]], with the four-year cycle of presidential elections shifting as a result. The most recent real-world election to be mentioned was the [[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972 election]]. It was referenced in the [[season finale]] of the first season.

Since the off-year-election theory listed above has never been stated as fact during the show's first six seasons, it is also possible that the show takes place two years in the past or two years in the future. However, there are a number of references that place the show in "real time," most notably in the episode "In Excelsis Deo," which first aired on December 15, 1999. The show contained an argument about whether the millennium begins in 2000 or 2001. "The Black Vera Wang," first airing on May 8, 2002, shows the computer screen in the office of [[C.J. Cregg]], and shows that she received new e-mails on April 30, 2002. In the second season episode "17 People" Toby Ziegler says "Leo, has there been discussion in some room someplace, anywhere on any level, about Hoynes being dropped from the ticket in 2002?". This clearly states the election year, and proves the current election takes place in 2006.

The election was held on [[November 7]], [[2006]], the first Tuesday in November of that year. In real life, American presidential elections always occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the year in which they are scheduled, and November 7 is the date of the actual United States' mid-term elections. 

The [[Political party|major party]] candidates were Representative [[Matt Santos]] of [[Texas]] and former [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]] [[Leo McGarry]] of [[Illinois]], the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s presidential and vice presidential nominees, and Senator [[Arnold Vinick]] of [[California]] and Governor [[Ray Sullivan]] of [[West Virginia]], the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]. The two presidential candidates "debated" in the first [[Live television|live]] episode of ''The West Wing'' in a debate with simpler rules designed by the candidates to let them speak openly and not from [[Talking points memorandum|talking points]].

On January 22, 2006, NBC announced that the series finale would be broadcast May 14, 2006.  NBC stated that the decision to cancel had been made prior to the December 16, 2005 death of actor [[John Spencer (actor)|John Spencer]], who played vice-presidential contender Leo McGarry. However, the result of the election was reportedly <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/arts/television/10wing.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|reportedly 'West Wing' writers have novel way of picking the President] for the NY Times by Jacques Steinberg on April 10, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2006.</ref> changed following Spencer's death, as the writers did not want "to make Santos lose both the election and his running mate." <ref>{{cite web | title=Media Life Magazine | url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_4031.asp | accessdate=2006-04-10}}</ref>

==Election results==
{{start U.S. presidential ticket box| pv_footnote=| ev_footnote=}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Matt Santos]]| state=[[Texas]]| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]| pv=TBA| pv_pct=TBA| ev=272| vp_name=[[Leo McGarry]]| vp_state=[[Illinois]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Arnold Vinick]]| state=[[California]]| party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]| pv=TBA| pv_pct=TBA| ev=266| vp_name=[[Ray Sullivan]]| vp_state=[[West Virginia]]}}
{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=TBA| ev=538| to_win=270}}

==Nominations==
===Democratic Party nomination===
*Democratic candidates
**[[Eric Baker]] (played by [[Ed O'Neill]]), governor of [[Pennsylvania]]
**[[John Hoynes (The West Wing)|John Hoynes]] (played by [[Tim Matheson]]), former vice president and former [[United States Senate Majority Leader|Senate Majority Leader]] from [[Texas]]
**[[Ricky Rafferty]] (played by [[Mel Harris]]), U.S. senator from an unknown state
**[[Bob Russell (The West Wing)|Robert "Bob" Russell]] (played by [[Gary Cole]]), incumbent vice president and former representative from [[Colorado]]
**[[Matt Santos]] (played by [[Jimmy Smits]]), [[congressman]] from [[Texas]]
**Someone named Clarkson is mentioned as contesting in both New Hampshire and Iowa. 
**Also the name Atkins is mentioned on more than one occasion.
**As seven candidates took part in the New Hampshire Primary, there are two other un-named candiadate. (Baker did not enter the race until the convention and Rafferty did not enter the race until after New Hampshire.)

Under the provisions of the 22nd amendment to the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]], two-term incumbent President [[Josiah Bartlet]] was disqualified from running. As the sixth season of ''The West Wing'' began, the three clear frontrunners for the Democrat's presidential nomination were Baker, Russell, and Hoynes, with Baker leading in the polls in both [[Iowa]] and [[New Hampshire]]. However, Baker took himself out of the race in what many believed was to be his announcement speech, saying that his reasons involved his family.

With Baker no longer in the running, many saw the race as a two-way battle between Russell and Hoynes, with the former taking the lead due to memories of the [[sex scandal]] that had forced Hoynes to resign the [[Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidency]]. Deputy White House Chief of Staff [[Josh Lyman]], however, had a different idea.

Not believing that Russell could win the general election, or that he would make a good president if he did, Lyman began fishing around for a candidate that he could run against Russell. Eventually, he settled on Representative Matt Santos (D-TX) after witnessing Santos' legislative prowess in getting a [[bipartisan]] [[U.S. Patients' Bill of Rights|Patients' Bill of Rights]] passed by the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. Despite the fact that the three-term congressman had previously told Lyman that he was retiring from both Congress and politics, he was eventually persuaded to run.

The campaign's start was hardly a good [[omen]] for success. Headquartered in a run-down boating supply store, Santos soon found himself dead last in the polls out of a field of seven candidates in both Iowa and New Hampshire, due mainly to his prior opposition to [[ethanol]] subsidies and several disparaging remarks that he had made in years past about the Concord State resembling a "[[Mayflower]] reunion." Not helping matters in the least was Santos' campaign style, which called for an issues-oriented campaign in a state which has long been known as the "grip-and-grin capital of the world."

[[Image:West_Wing_Democratic_Primaries_2006_lg.png|thumb|300px|right|Winners of primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination, and delegation votes on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention]]

However, although he lost the [[Iowa caucus]] by a wide margin, Santos was able to pull off a moral victory in the [[New Hampshire primary]] when he broadcast a live thirty-second ad in New Hampshire in which he promised not to use [[negative campaigning]] against his opponents and to always speak for himself in his commercials, instead of trying to distance himself from them as the other candidates had. These promises apparently struck a chord with voters, as Santos managed to take third-place, behind Russell and Hoynes, with 19% of the vote.

His celebration, however, was short-lived, as Senator Ricky Rafferty, a newly-declared candidate and the only woman in the race, managed to steal both attention from the media attention and the "[[insurgency]] candidate" image from Santos. Foremost in Rafferty's campaign was a plan for single-payer [[universal health care]], which, viewers later learned, was secretely supplied to her by [[Toby Ziegler]], the White House's Communications Director. Although it was never specifically stated on the show, it appears that Senator Rafferty stayed in the race until the [[South Carolina]] primary, before dropping out.

During the time between the New Hampshire primary and [[Super Tuesday]], Santos had managed to win primaries in [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]], but he had come in third in most of the others. In fact, his prospects were so bad that his [[fundraising]] had dried-up and he would have been forced to [[mortgage]] his house in order to continue until the primary in Texas if he did not at least come in second in [[California]].

When, on the day before the California primary, another sex scandal erupted for John Hoynes, who had been leading the polls there, Santos was able to maneuver into receiving the implicit endorsement of the [[Governor of California]] and he won the primary in an upset victory.

[[Image:Mattsantos.PNG|thumb|right|The Santos-McGarry ticket.]]

Picking up steam, Santos proceeded to win primaries in many more states, including [[Florida]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Texas]], [[Illinois]], and [[New Jersey]]. By the time of the [[Democratic National Convention]], he had won enough delegates to leave Hoynes in the dust and virtually tie with Russell, deadlocking the convention. Prior to the convention, Santos turned down the offer of the vice-presidential slot from Russell and decided to take his chances for the top job.

During the [[2006]] Democratic National Convention held in the [[HP Pavilion]] in [[San Jose, California]], Governor Baker, an early favorite who had decided against running, turned down an offer of the vice-presidential nomination from Russell and offered himself as a presidential candidate from the floor, stealing delegate votes from all of the candidates and stretching the balloting to an unprecedented third day. When members of the Russell campaign revealed to the press that Baker had covered up his wife's history of clinical depression, however, he lost delegate support.

[[Image:Tww dnc 2006.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Democratic ticket at the Democratic National Convention.]]

Ordered by convention organizer, former [[White House Chief of Staff]] [[Leo McGarry]], to step aside in favor of either Baker or Russell, Santos was given a chance to address the convention. Instead of withdrawing, however, Santos gave a rousing speech that swung the momentum in the balloting back to him. Thanks to the behind-the-scenes machinations of President Bartlet, who had decided, at the urging of current [[White House Chief of Staff]] [[C.J. Cregg|Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg]], to end the balloting before it damaged the party's image, Santos received the support of a key teacher's union, which had spurned him because of his views on teacher tenure. Santos eventually received at least 2,751 votes from delegates, clinching the nomination at the end of the final episode of the sixth season. In the last minutes of the episode, it was revealed that he had chosen Leo McGarry as his vice presidential running mate.

===Republican Party nomination===
[[Image:Vinick_campaign.gif|right|thumb|Arnold Vinick/Ray Sullivan Ticket]]
*Republican candidates
**[[Don Butler|Reverend Don Butler]] (played by [[Don S. Davis]]), [[televangelist]] and minister
**[[Arnold Vinick]] (played by [[Alan Alda]]), U.S. senator from [[California]]
**[[Glen Allen Walken]] (played by [[John Goodman]]), former [[Speaker of the House]] and former [[Acting President of the United States]] from [[Missouri]]
**Allard (during the Iowa caucus, someone called Allard is mentioned as the other major front runner against Walken)
**Bennett (President Bartlet mentions the name Bennett as another leading Republican candidate)

Of the five Republicans who contested the nomination, Senator Vinick was generally considered to be a longshot, while former House Speaker Walken was viewed as the obvious favorite. This was mainly because of Vinick's confirmed [[centrism]] and his [[pro-Choice|pro-choice]] views on [[abortion]]. This view seemed to be confirmed when Walken won the [[Iowa caucus]], with Vinick coming in last due to his having spoken out against [[ethanol]] subsidies while campaigning there.

However, as the  Primary campaign progressed , Vinick's results improved as Walken, Allard and Bennett eventually withdrew from the race leaving it a straight fight between Vinick and Rev. Butler, who is described as "winning some primaries". Although Vinick was described by some as "sweeping" the primaries, he did not win enough delegates to ensure a first-ballot nomination until he defeated Butler in the [[New Jersey]] primary.

[[Image:Tww 2006 abortion debate.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Abortion was a major issue of the campaign.]]

Seeking to [[ticket balance|balance the ticket]] with a staunchly [[pro-Life|pro-life]] [[conservatism|conservative]] as his vice presidential nominee, Vinick was ready to give the nomination to Rev. Butler, who turned him down before he could make the offer, citing their differences on the abortion issue. Eventually, Vinick settled on Governor [[Ray Sullivan]] of [[West Virginia]] as his running-mate and they were both nominated on the first ballot at the [[2006]] [[Republican National Convention]] at the [[Wachovia Center]] in [[Philadelphia]].

In one episode, Arnold Vinick mentioned growing up in a "citrus-growing" community. In response to this, the Californian town of [[Santa Paula]], which is famous for citrus growing and is often referred to as the "citrus capital of the world", wrote to the West Wing production company, asking that Santa Paula be made Arnold Vinick's hometown. The production company promised to keep Santa Paula in mind for any future campaign filming. In the mean time, the city council decided to organize a campaign for Arnold Vinick, including the opening of an Arnold Vinick Presidential Campaign Headquarters. The NBC online [[biography]] of Vinick has revealed that he is indeed from Santa Paula and in an episode Vinick talks about retiring and "returning home to Santa Paula" if he loses the election.

==Campaign==
[[Image:Tww 2006 border1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Arnold Vinick campaigning on immigration.]]

The 2006 presidential campaign began with Arnold Vinick holding a large lead over underdog Matt Santos. Santos had just come out of a closely contested primary season and convention while Vinick's convention was described in private by many Democrats, including President Bartlet himself, as being a relatively clean and well-organized affair. Many, including some high-ranking Democrats, believed that Santos had little chance to beat Arnold Vinick, a moderate Republican from the traditionally Democratic state of California. Both Leo McGarry and Toby Ziegler in the episode "Running Mates" went so far as to say that Santos and the Democrats had "no chance" to beat Vinick.

[[Image:Tww 2006 vpdebate1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Leo McGarry's health and candidacy was often questioned.]]
Image was an important factor throughout the campaign. Leo McGarry had been known for working behind the scenes and had no history in elected office, so his nomination for the vice presidency was often questioned. McGarry frightens his staff in preperation for the vice presidential debate, appearing very ineffective in preperation with expectations in the press lower, but he ends up being surprisingly effective. Santos was forced early on to confront his so-called "Mommy Problem", that he was seen as likable and strong on social issues in polls, but that Vinick dominated in the important area of national defense. On the other hand, Vinick faced numerous image problems, seen as too liberal by conservatives and too conservative by liberals with the general problem of being older and less [[photogenic]] than Santos. Vinick believed that Santos was a smart campaigner and decided to campaign on [[United States–Mexico border|border issues]] to try and take votes from the traditionally Republican homestate of Santos, Texas. This was seen by some and implied by Santos to be a direct attempt to earn votes against Santos because he was [[Latino]].

Religion was also a large factor in the election through a variety of issues including [[abortion]], [[intelligent design]], and the general [[piety]] of the candidates. Vinick was a rarity as a [[pro-choice]] Republican and his campaign staff attempted to repair his image among [[pro-life]] voters by having his vice presidential candidate speak on [[family values]] issues, including abortion. Vinick had originally courted Reverend Butler for his vice president, but Butler turned Vinick down for his pro-choice views. Santos was a pro-choice Democrat but a devout Christian that led him to question his views on abortion throughout the campaign. At one point a [[527 group]] aired an attack ad against Santos, editing a clip of him speaking to make it appear as though Santos had secret pro-life views he was hiding from the public (possibly an allusion to the [[Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]] in the 2004 campaign). This led Josh Lyman to point out that Santos was "being hit from both sides", attacked as another pro-choice Democrat to pro-life voters and as potentially pro-life to uncertain pro-choice voters. Also, on a trip through [[Pennsylvania]] during Santos' self-proclaimed "education week" a debate over teaching intelligent design in the state arose. Santos disregarded his staff's advice to stay away from the state-specific issue, though ultimately eloquently described his precise views to a small group of teachers.

[[Image:Tww 2006 nuclear1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The San Andreo disaster area was visited by President Bartlet and Senator Vinick.]]

Arguably the most defining moment of the campaign was the near [[nuclear meltdown]] at the fictional [[San Andreo]] power plant in Vinick's home state of California. President Bartlet was forced to vent radioactive gases from the plant into the atmosphere and issue a large scale evacuation order for the surrounding area. Although the meltdown was avoided, the event still had a severe effect on the campaign. Vinick was a long-time supporter of nuclear power, summed up repeatedly on news broadcasts in a clip from the live debate where he repeatedly defended nuclear power as being "completely safe". However, because Vinick was a Senator from California, Bartlet wanted to visit the accident site, and it was traditional for a Congressional delegation from the disaster 's home state to accompany the president, Vinick was able to stand by the president. Some believed he would be "absolved" by Bartlet (and in the country's eyes) simply by getting on the plane with the president and standing by him as he spoke. However, it was soon revealed to the nation that Vinick played a key role in getting San Andreo up and running, which further damaged his campaign's standing. States with nuclear plants in them saw a sudden shift in polling towards Santos, bringing several states into contention (including Ohio, Florida, South Carolina, and California<ref>[http://www.footnote.tv/ftvww144i.html Commentary on "Duck and Cover"] for FootnoteTV by Stephen Lee on January 22, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2006.</ref>) and both men into a tie at around 44% of voters supporting them nationally.

==Election==
A variety of factors affected voter turn-out on election day.  Rain in Boston looked to deter voter turn-out in the key districts Santos needed to carry [[Massachusetts]], while massive field operations were employed to get the Latino vote to the polls for Santos.  Strategists in both camps noted various problems with exit polls, citing new laws that might have affected the data collected in unexpected ways while other polls were skewed by disproportionate samples. The election started off with a pair of surprises: [[South Carolina]], traditionally a Republican state, was called for Santos within minutes of polls closing on the East Coast while [[West Virginia]], a traditionally Democratic state (but one which has recently become strongly Republican, and also the home of Vinick's running mate, Governor Ray Sullivan), was called for Vinick.  More normal outcomes were had in [[Pennsylvania]] (Santos), [[Indiana]] (Vinick) and [[Kentucky]] (Vinick). 

The election was thrown into potential chaos when [[Leo McGarry]], Santos' running mate, had a heart attack and died suddenly. The polls on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] were open for another ninety minutes, creating a situation for both campaigns. Santos' people wanted to try and delay the announcement until after the West Coast polls closed, fearing that undecideds in those states might choose to rely on Vinick's experience in the wake of McGarry's passing (this option was soon realized to be impossible given the number of people outside the campaign who knew what had happened).  The Vinick campaign saw McGarry's death as a potential argument to challenge the election results if the Senator lost (the logic being that people had voted for Santos ''and'' McGarry, so the results were tainted without him).  Vinick vehemently refused to employ this option, finding it unconscionable to use the death of a candidate as a tool for challenging the outcome of the race.

As the night ground on, the election became a see-saw battle.  With the exception of South Carolina, Vinick captured the South and Midwest, while Santos took the Southwest and most of New England.  A major surprise was that Vinick picked up [[Maine]] and [[Vermont]], two states that traditionally vote Democrat.  When [[Texas]] was called for Santos, it seemed to indicate a possible runaway victory for the Democrats.  That notion was quashed when [[California]] went to native son Vinick, giving him 266 electoral votes to Santos' 260 with only [[Oregon]] (7 electoral votes) and [[Nevada]] (5 electoral votes) left in play.  Just one of the two would give Vinick the Presidency, but Santos would need both.

Oregon was first, going into the Santos column and making the Electoral College 267-266.  That left Nevada as a "winner-take-all" for either side, a strange situation since Santos had conceded Nevada (a traditionally Republican-leaning state) to Vinick early on in the race while Vinick's campaign had gutted their Nevada operations to focus on California.  Finally at 5:45 AM EST on Wednesday [[November 8]], [[2006]] Nevada, and the Presidency, was called for Matthew Santos.  Senator Vinick chose to concede the election rather than contest the slim margin of defeat in the Silver State (just 30,000 votes) and called Santos to congratulate him on his victory.

Fans have noted that, while they were explained in a limited capacity, the results in states such as South Carolina and Vermont seemed unlikely.  Similar complaints were leveled about Bartlet's 2002 victory, which included Democratic victories in the solidly Republican states of [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], and [[Nebraska]], with a strikingly close match in Bartlett's swing state home of [[New Hampshire]].

== Results by state ==
[[image:Electoral_Map_WW.jpg|thumb|300px|Presidential electoral votes by state.]]

As of the end of the second part of the episode ''Election Day,'' the following states have been called by the major TV networks, giving Santos a 272-266 victory over Vinick: 

{|
|-
! Santos
! Vinick
|-
|
*Texas (34)
*New York (31)
*Illinois (21)
*Pennsylvania (21)
*Michigan (17)
*New Jersey (15)
*Massachusetts (12)
*Missouri (11)
*Washington (11)
*Maryland (10)
*Arizona (10)
*Wisconsin (10)
*Minnesota (10)
*Colorado (9)
*South Carolina (8)
*Connecticut (7)
*Oregon (7)
*Nevada (5)
*New Mexico (5)
*Hawaii (4)
*New Hampshire (4)
*Rhode Island (4)
*Delaware (3)
*District of Columbia (3) 
|
*California (55)
*Florida (27)
*Ohio (20)
*Georgia (15)
*North Carolina (15)
*Virginia (13)
*Indiana (11)
*Tennessee (11)
*Alabama (9)
*Louisiana (9)
*Kentucky (8)
*Iowa (7)
*Oklahoma (7)
*Arkansas (6)
*Kansas (6)
*Mississippi (6)
*Nebraska (5)
*Utah (5)
*West Virginia (5)
*Idaho (4)
*Maine (4)
*Alaska (3)
*Montana (3)
*South Dakota (3)
*North Dakota (3)
*Vermont (3)
*Wyoming (3)
|-
! Total - 272
! Total - 266
|-
|}

==Congress==
The Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives with a four seat majority, while the Republicans kept control of the Senate. One Democratic loss was Bartlet's son-in-law, Doug Westin, who lost by a double digit margin for a New Hampshire House seat.

==See also==
*''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]''
**[[Arnold Vinick]]
**[[Matt Santos]]
*[[United States presidential election, 2002]]
*[[Timeline skew theories for The West Wing (TV series)]]

*[[U.S. presidential primary]]
*[[U.S. presidential nominating convention]]
*[[U.S. presidential election debates]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/Campaign/ Official Campaign Website]
*[http://www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us/vinick/index.htm Santa Paula for Vinick]
*[http://www.footnote.tv/ftvwwcampaignguide.html Candidate analysis]

[[Category:The West Wing (TV series)]]
[[Category:Fictional events]]