Matt Santos - Election Aftermath

Election Aftermath

Despite the death of his running mate Leo McGarry on election night, Santos was narrowly elected President of the United States after defeating Arnold Vinick in the Electoral College by a vote of 272-266. Santos carried his home state of Texas, while Vinick won his home state of California; Santos clinched the election by winning Nevada with a margin of 30,000 votes. Despite the strong urging of his senior campaign staff, Vinick chose not to contest the results and conceded the election. Santos later offered Vinick the position of Secretary of State in his administration, a move not greeted with enthusiasm by his top advisors. Vinick accepted the offer under the condition that he would be free to shape policy at the State Department without interference from Democratic Party political operatives and on the promise that he could pick his own Deputy Secretary, albeit a Democratic one, and advise on the selection of all Under Secretaries. They sealed this agreement while reviewing the President's "Daily Intelligence Briefing" and discussing how to resolve the situation in Kazakhstan vis-a-vis Russia and China. Reynolds (whom Vinick regarded as a disaster), Schmidt, Noah and Nancy McNally had also been on the shortlist for Secretary of State.

The last few episodes of the series cover the end of the Bartlet administration and the transition to the new one. Santos is forced to remain neutral while Democrats pick a new Speaker of the House, and he declines to tip the race in favor of his political mentor, Congressman Tim Fields (D-TX), who bitterly ends up losing out to Congressman Mark B. Sellner, a moderate Democrat who opposes Santos' centerpiece anti-lobbying bill. He also earns C.J. Cregg's ire when he makes a negative comment about President Bartlet's policy towards China, but it turns out Santos and President Bartlet have come up with a "good cop, bad cop" plan to try and scare China (and Russia) into ending their military incursions into Kazakhstan. Santos's administration takes shape in advance of his inauguration, with Josh Lyman being appointed as his Chief of Staff. Lyman recruits his old friend and former White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn as his deputy. From the Santos-McGarry campaign come Louise Thornton as the new Director of Communication, Ronna Beckman as the President's personal secretary while Donna Moss and Annabeth Schott join the First Lady's Office as Chief of Staff and Press Secretary respectively. Amy Gardner is offered the post of Director of Legislative Affairs, while Ainsley Hayes puts her name forward for the post of White House Counsel. Santos indicates his wish to appoint Oliver Babish as Attorney General. He selects Nancy McNally as Ambassador to the United Nations, though she was initially considered for Secretary of State. Santos also considers choosing Senator Swain of Rhode Island, a Republican, as his Secretary of Defense on the advice of Barry Goodwin, although Josh strongly opposed this as choosing a Republican Senator from a Blue State would be seen as a "political grab". It was also revealed that someone named Keenitz was Santos' choice for Agriculture Secretary, with the Kansas City Star discovering this and asking for comment. For Treasury Secretary, Santos chose between two highly-confirmable candidates; Connor, who was more popular among Democrats, and Rosenthal, who was more respected by Wall Street but had few administrative skills. Santos ultimately chose Rosenthal, as he would be better selling the administration's tax plan. Kate Harper was passed over for promotion to National Security Advisor, with this role instead going to someone named Glenn. His first choice for Vice President is Governor Eric Baker of Pennsylvania, a 2006 Democratic presidential contender. Congresswoman Carol Gellsey (D-FL) had been second on Santos' shortlist. Santos decides to nominate Baker under the terms of the 25th Amendment once his term has begun, rather than submitting his name to the Electoral College for virtually automatic appointment.