The_West_Wing_presidential_election,_2002

The West Wing presidential election, 2002

The United States presidential election in 2002 was a fictional event that took place during the third and fourth seasons of the American television program The West Wing.

Incumbent Democratic President Josiah Bartlet of New Hampshire defeated Republican Governor Robert Ritchie of Florida with a 423-115 electoral college victory and by over ten million votes in the popular vote.

Nominations

Democratic Party

Incumbent President Josiah Bartlet of New Hampshire was the unanimous nominee of the Democratic Party. When Bartlet disclosed to the nation that he hid his multiple sclerosis during the 1998 Presidential Election, it was believed he would not seek reelection as a result of the ensuing scandal. However, during a live press conference on the night of his disclosure in May 2001, some 18 months before the election, he announced in no uncertain terms his intention to seek a second term, saying "Yeah, and I'm gonna win." Indiana Governor Jack Buckland appeared to be considering challenging the President in primary elections, which worried the White House since Buckland was considered more conservative than Bartlet. He was eventually talked out of it by Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in exchange for being named Secretary of Labor in the second Bartlet Administration.

Incumbent Vice President John Hoynes of Texas was renominated as President Bartlet's running mate. Before the election there had been talk of replacing Hoynes on the ticket, due to opinion polls that reflected that Governor Ritchie's candidacy would deny the Bartlet/Hoynes ticket the South, particularly Texas, Georgia and Florida, two of three states which Bartlet had won four years before, and delivered him victory. Campaign staff briefly considered choosing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy Fitzwallace as a replacement VP candidate, due to his reputation as a Vietnam veteran and a defense hawk and due to the calculation that a black running mate would increase black turnout and deliver Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina to a Bartlet/Fitzwallace ticket. White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry was also mentioned as a possibility (foreshadwing his eventual selection as Matt Santos' running mate in 2006). But there was a concern that Hoynes being rejected from the ticket might lead to him declaring a third-party candidacy, thereby acting as a spoiler and throwing the election to Ritchie, although Hoynes himself was supportive of the decision to reconsider his position on the ticket. Ultimately, Bartlet himself vetoed the moves, making it clear he wanted Hoynes by writing four words on a piece of paper: "Because I could die."

Republican Party

For the Iowa caucuses, President Bartlet stated that there were six Republican candidates; three governors, two senators and "the head of the church of 'I Hate You'" (presumably meaning a candidate who was a far-right reverend.)

A politician named Simon was believed to be the favourite at the start of the primary campaign. But it was two-term Governor Robert Ritchie of Florida, who was believed to be the outsider at the start of the race, who came through and won the nomination. Helped by a shock win in the Iowa caucus, and as other candidates dropped out, Ritchie had the race won just after Super Tuesday. Ritchie picked Jeff Hestin as his running mate.

Independent candidates

Despite at least three (Senator Lloyd Russell, Indiana Governor Jack Buckland, and Senator Seth Gillette of North Dakota) putting out feelers during his first term, no Democrat challenged Bartlet for the party's nomination. However, two Democrats attempted to launch independent third-party campaigns for the Presidency. Senator Seth Gillette of North Dakota, a left-wing Democrat who had strong support from environmentalist groups and labor unions, threatened to launch a third-party campaign for the Presidency after the President announced the formation of a blue-ribbon commission to study Social Security, but was persuaded not to by being given the chair of that commission; he was also briefly considered as a replacement for Bartlet on the 2002 ticket after the announcement of his multiple sclerosis. Senator Howard Stackhouse of Minnesota, an elderly liberal Democrat (78 in early 2001) noted for conducting a lengthy filibuster of an appropriations bill to secure money for autism research, ran a campaign as an Independent until early October, when he dropped out and endorsed Bartlet.

General election campaign

The campaign was dogged by criticism of President Bartlet's decision to keep his multiple sclerosis hidden from the public. The President also had to fend off criticism concerning the size of the federal government. Governor Ritchie campaigned on the theme that Bartlet and the Democrats were soft on crime and were too involved in the government.

During the campaign White House staffers repeatedly expressed concerns that Bartlet appeared aloof and out of touch with ordinary Americans. When Josh Lyman, Toby Zeigler and Donna Moss are left behind by the presidential motorcade in Indiana, they become acutely aware, as they attempt to get public transport back to Washington, that the concerns of ordinary voters were not being represented in the campaign. This led the campaign to take a more cautious approach when responding to allegations of elitism on the part of the first lady and when preparing the President for the debate. This also eventually leads to Bartlet’s tax deductible tuition initiative.

Ritchie was known for a folksy, down-to-earth style and a simplistic manner of speaking with which he was able to communicate with people, in contrast to the intellectualism of President Bartlet. Bartlet for a time attempted to emulate this behaviour before his advisor Toby Ziegler convinced him to stop, a strategy that ultimately contributed to the result.

The Ritchie campaign agreed to only two debates, while the Bartlet camp wanted five. A decision was handed down that there would be two debates using rules that President Bartlet felt did not allow for true debate. Bartlet wanted real discussion in the debate, so he traded down to a single debate in exchange for effective debate rules that allowed him to engage Ritchie. The debate, held at University of California, San Diego on Wednesday, October 23, 2002, resulted in an overwhelming victory for the President. When Governor Ritchie criticised the federal government superseding the states, President Bartlet replied by saying Florida had taken $12.6 billion from the federal government, and cheekily asked "Can we have it back, please?"

So impressive were the President's debating skills that even Ritchie himself admitted defeat. In the post-debate handshake, Ritchie whispered "It's over," to Bartlet, who replied "You'll be back."

Election results

In the general election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 2002, Bartlet was successfully re-elected, winning a majority of the popular vote (which he failed to do four years earlier) by a margin of 11.2% and a landslide in the electoral college. In the Deep South, Bartlet won Louisiana and South Carolina; and made a clean sweep of the Midwest and most of the Plains States, including the Dakotas. This was contradicted in the 7th season episode "Election Day" in which it was said no Democrat had won North Dakota in a presidential election in forty years, despite the statement by President Bartlet in the 4th season episode "Process Story" that he is the first Democrat to win the Dakotas in "twenty years". (The 7th season statement is true to the real world as the last Democrat to win North Dakota was Lyndon Johnson in 1964 which would be 42 years). Bartlet won the state of Maine with 67% of the vote, which he had lost four years before. He also won New Mexico by just 6,000 votes; however he lost two states that he had won in 1998: Georgia (narrowly) and Florida (Ritchie's home state).

Results by state

It was shown on an electoral map in the fourth-season episode "Debate Camp" that the Electoral College totals for each state were based on the real world's 2000 totals.

Congressional elections

It is stated that about 14 senate races and 46 house races were thought to be competitive in the congressional elections. Bartlet's landslide victory also lead to a dozen gains for the Democrats in the House of Representatives.

One race that received particular attention was the race in California's 47th District, a traditional Republican stronghold where staunchly conservative six term Republican incumbent Chuck Webb was narrowly defeated (53,722 to 53,610 or 50.05% to 49.95%) by the deceased Democratic candidate Horton Wilde. Although in the resulting special election in early 2003, in which White House Deputy Communications Director and Orange County native Sam Seaborn ran against Webb, the result of the race is never made clear.

However, overall the Republicans still retained control of both Houses, which angered Congressional Democrats and led them to call Bartlet's victory "the lonely landslide." In the episode "Ways and Means" (which takes place in 2001), the Republicans had 226-209 (nine seat) house majority. In "Jefferson Lives" (which takes place in July 2003), the Republicans had a house majority of four seats (221-214), so the Democrats seemingly made a net gain of five seats in the House elections.