West Wing Election

[Bunnybrit]

The "West Wing Election"
Background:
Dem President Jed Bartlet has served two terms has President. He was elected with only 48 % of the vote 8 years ago, with 303 elec votes(and 48 million votes) and with John Hoynes as his then VP he did very well in the southern states(Hoynes was a Senator from Texas).
Running for re-election four years he won re-election easily in landslide taking over 54 million votes against Florida Governor Robert Ritchie.
Just 4 months into his 2nd term, VP Hoynes was forced to re-sign over a scnadal that he linked information to his lover. He was replaced by Colorado Congressman Robert "Bingo Bob" Russell.
More to come............

[Bunnybrit]

Trilobyte to answer your question, it is yes. The show takes place in a world likes ours but not ours.
In this world the last real life President that was mentioned was Richard Nixon. In this world  Carter,Reagan, Bush Snr, Clinton, GW where never in the White House.
As for Gerald Ford, thats never been made clear.
Anyway the events which have just happended in series 6 take place in 2006(the show jumped a year). In this world the Presidential elections take place in our worlds mid-terms.
President Bartlet was elected in November 1998(before the show started)- when the show started in September Bartlet has been in office for around Nine months and re-elected in November 2002.
Also we have never been told when the election date changed although we do know that there was a Presidential election in 1972 in the West Wing World(as it was mentioned in first series epsiode). So the election cycle changed between 1972 and 1998.
As for the Presidents after Nixon and before Bartlet we know two of them, one was a Republican called Owen Lassister, and the other one was a Dem called D.W. Newman (played by James Cromwell) who was the last dem in the White House before Bartlet(he served just one term- as he speaks of his "four years").
We still don`t know who Bartlet defeated in the November 1998, it has never been said on screen, but it makes sense that it was Lassister.
As for Iraq, in the West Wing world, the Gulf War happened as in our world,, in 2000 there are no-fly zones etc but we can assume that the war was thought by a President that wasen`t George Bush Snr.
Bin Laden got a mention in 2000 as well in passing but Bartlet`s main terriost enemy has been Qumar( a fictional middle-eastern nation) which is where real life southern Iran is(they showed a map a couple of times). Bartlet also has US troops in Gaza as a part of middle-eastern peace process between Palestine and Isreal.
I`ll do some candidate profiles shortly.

[Bunnybrit]

First things first, James Broiln played Governor Robert Ritchie who Bartlet defeated in the 2002 Presidential election in a landslide. Ritchie was not a nasty Republican, he was just a bit thick, based on George W .Bush and Dan Quayle, taking in soundbites etc.
The show has actually been quite good to Republicans in general, we have had a gay Republican Congressman, a republican Lawyer in Ainsley Hayes who worked in the White House for a while, and even a Republican President(well acting) in Glen Allen Walken(the former speaker of the House), who took over from Bartlet for three days in 2003 after Bartlets daughter was kidkanpped and after VP Hoynes had resigned.
Indeed i havent seen any of the epsiodes of this season because I am in the UK, and don`t get on E4 untill late summer, but from what I have read, Alan Aldas character Sentor Arnold Vinick is a modertae likable character.

[Bunnybrit]

The Canididates
Republican:
 Presidential Nominee: Senator Arnold Vinick
Moderate and experienced Senator from California. Former Chairman of the Senate ForeignRelations Commitee.
Decided to run for the Presidency after his wife died from Cancer. Was the outsider for the nomination but easily got won after outpacing former Acting President Glen Allen Walken, Rev Pat Butler(from the Deep south), and West Virginia Governor Ray Sullivan.
Doesnt not go to church and fell out with god after the death of his wife. Also pro-abortion.
VP Nominee: Governor Ray Sullivan.
Governor of West Virginia, popular with the democracts and like Vinick a moderate although he does go to church and is against abortion.He was the youngest US Attorney confirmed by the Senate. A 2-term State Attorney General & had the highest white-collar crime conviction rate in the country. Also had the highest number of Independents voting for him in W. Virginia, & he won the governorship w/ 62% of the vote.

[Bunnybrit]

The Canididates
Democrat:
Presidential Nominee: Congressman Matthew Santos
Hispanic one-term Texan Congressman from Houston. A former Marine and Mayor of his home city.
A complete outsider for the nomination, who didnt enter the race till just before Christmas. Finally became the Dems choice at the Convention after the primary race saw him deadlocked with Current Vice President Robert "Bingo Bob" Russell and Former Vice President John Hoynes. These three canidates had defeated Senate Majority Leader Triplehorn and female Senetor Ricky Raffety.
Policy wise wants to save Social Secruit, fix entlements and lenthening the school year.
VP Nominee: Former White House COF Leo McGarry
Complete surprise choice as Santos running mate was chosen to counter any Republican attacks on Santos lack of experience. Was Bartlet`s COF for seven years before heart attack. Orignally was the one who has got Bartlet to run for the nomination in 1998. A former Sec of Labour in a Republican Adminsration in the early 1990`s. Is a recovering alocholic and was addicated to pain killers. Was General Chairman of Bartlet for America in 1998 and war hero who flew planes in Vietnam.

[Bunnybrit]

I hope the profiles of the candidates have helped non viwers get an idea of the election.
I have always disagreed with the shows electoral math. Espically when it was said in the 1998 election that Bartlet won the south. I have worked worked out maps for Bartlets 1998 and 200w wins (no maps have been shown) but win know in 1998 he got 303 elec votes. I will post maps. I think they are planning to make this election like ouur 200 election. Maybe no candidate will get enough elec votes and the result will go into the house.

[Bunnybrit]

303 electoral votes equals the 2000 result for Gore plus Texas and New Hampshire (where Hoynes and Bartlett are from).

That is good thinking but that doesnt tie with some of the statements made in the show about Bartlets 1998 election victory(which happended before the show started). I will not reference them against the epsiode they appeared in because that would be sad !!!!
1. He lost Texas(even though it was Hoynes home state)
2. He won Florida
3. He won Oregon by 10,000 votes
4. He did very well in the south(Hoynes says he "delivered the south")
5. But he didnt take Lousianna in 1998(he did in 2002).
5. He did win New Hampshire(his home state)
6. He didnt win Maine.
He got 303 elec votes in 1998(based our worlds 1996/2000 elec votes)he also got 48 million votes and 48% of the vote(which is similar to Clinton`s 1996 victory).
Although  he got 76 less elec votes than Clinton.
Also thanks for the kind comments about the candidate profiles.