☜ 2002 •  • 2010 ☞
| |||||
| UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY January—June 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Santos | Bob Russell | John Hoynes | |||
 |
 |
 | |||
| Texas | Colorado | Texas | |||
| VOTES | |||||
| delegates | |||||
| 1,599 | 1,677 | 956 | |||
| contests | |||||
| 12 | 25 + DC | 13 | |||
| popular | |||||
| n/a | n/a | n/a | |||
| PERCENTAGE | |||||
| n/a | n/a | n/a | |||
 | |||||
The 2006 Democratic Presidential Primaries were held to determine the Democratic Party's nominee for the 2006 United States Presidential Election. President Bartlet's two-term presidency and the 2003 resignation in disgrace of original front-runner John Hoynes left a lack of strong candidates to retain the White House. Early front-runner Pennsylvania Governor Eric Baker declined to run, making Vice President Russell the new front-runner.
Russell won twenty-five states during the primaries,[1] but he was seen as a lightweight with support "a mile wide and an inch deep," hence the party's original preference for Baker and the opening for Matt Santos's surprise win against Russell.
Candidates[]
DECLARED
- Vice President Bob Russell of Colorado
- Former Vice President John Hoynes of Texas
- Congressman Matt Santos of Texas
- Clarkson - a relatively well-funded Democrat who Matt Santos has to leapfrog to get into third place
- Atkins - an African-American woman[2] and left-wing fringe candidate[3]
- Hogan
- Senator Ricky Rafferty (entered after New Hampshire, but dropped out again soon after)
- One other, possibly Senator Winnick (D)[4] (after Baker dropped out but before Rafferty's entrance, there were seven Democrats, five of whom were white men)[5]
Potential, but declined
- Governor Eric Baker of Pennsylvania - presumptive front-runner and expected to run, but ultimately declined
- Senate Minority Leader Wendell Tripplehorn[6]
- House Minority Leader Sheila Fields[7]
- Secretary of State Lewis Berryhill[8]
- Congresswoman Diane Frost[9]
- Congresswoman Carol Gelsey of Florida[10]
Iowa Caucus[]
AHEAD OF CAUCUS
Russell was the front-runner with Hoynes second and the other candidates polling very low (Santos is said to be polling at 3%)
RESULTS
Vice President Robert Russell won the caucus.
New Hampshire Primary[]
BEFORE THE PRIMARY
- Seven candidates are on the ballot (Amy Gardner calls them the "Seven Dwarves")
- Russell and Hoynes are the only candidates to poll at over 20%
- Russell and Hoynes hit each other hard with a ton of negative ads with Russell highlighting Hoynes' pro-gun voting record when he was Senator, while Hoynes attacked Russell for being coy with the mining industry
The 2006 New Hampshire Primary Debate with Atkins (second from the left), Hoynes (third from the left), Russell (in the center), Santos (second from the right) and three unnamed white male candidates.
RESULTS
Vice President Robert Russell won the New Hampshire Primary. Santos came in third with 19%.
South Carolina Primary[]
Former Vice President John Hoynes likely won this contest. It is likely Ricky Rafferty dropped out of the primary election after this one.
Arizona & New Mexico Primaries[]
Little is known about these, apart from the fact Matt Santos won them due to Latino support ("A Good Day, La Palabra").
Super Tuesday[]
RESULTS
Matt Santos wins California ("La Palabra"), his first major state. Bob Russell wins in New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Ohio ("La Palabra"). Hoynes collapsed, but after initial reports appeared to beat Russell in Connecticut and some Southern states.
Texas Primary[]
Santos won the Texas Primary, defeating John Hoynes in their mutual home state.[1]
Florida Primary[]
Russell campaigned with a corrupt anti-Castro congressman Cabrera and touted his hardline stance on Cuba to draw Cuban-American support, while Santos' stance on Cuba was less clear.[11] Santos ultimately won the primary, strengthening his momentum over Russell.[1]
Pennsylvania Primary[]
Santos won the Pennsylvania Primary.[1]
Illinois Primary[]
Santos won the Illinois Primary.[1]
New Jersey Primary[]
This was the last primary of the cycle. Santos won it by less than 1% over Russell.[12]
Other states[]
Hoynes generally won the South, where he still commanded loyalty despite his scandals, as well as Connecticut and Washington State further afield. Russell won most of the North East and was particularly strong in the Midwest and West, while Santos focused on delegate-rich big states to catch up to Russell once he gained momentum after his California victory. Santos also scored victories in the Latino-heavy state of Nevada, in Oregon, and in the Dakotas.
| PREDECESSOR 2002 |
Democratic Presidential Primary Elections 2006 |
SUCCESSOR - |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2162 Votes
- ↑ In the New Hampshire debate, we see Hoynes, Russell, Santos, three white men (Clarkson and two others) and an African American woman. A leaked script from King Corn originally had Atkins as a man, however: "On the way, she passes a "robust, well-tailored, larger than life African-American man" named Atkins who's waiting by the elevators. He tells Donna to tell Will to leave them a few table scraps. A note says Atkins is charismatic & "...still very much the ordained minister he was before entering politics". Donna calls him Mr. Mayor & says she'll tell Will, but she doubts he'll listen. Atkins says Will has his hands in the pockets of most of his major donors. He gets into the elevator...Donna tells him that she saw Atkins & asks if he was invited. He was & he might try to embarrass them about NAFTA. They've gotta figure a way to have him stand down at the end next to a guy w/ a ponytail & Nehru jacket. Roger says the ponytail guy's a folk singer. They should get him to bring his guitar. Christine says he plays a mean version of If I Had A Hammer. Donna says Atkins complained about them going after his donors. Will wants to know when they were Atkins donors".
- ↑ In King Corn Russell feared debating her and Santos on race issues in the Black & Brown Debate ("Atkins and Santos get to stand up there rail against racial injustice, while the rest of us loiter looking like those albino twins from The Matrix)". In 2162 Votes Josh told Ronna at the convention that "You're looking for stray Atkins delegates ripe for the picking". She would later campaign for Santos as a key surrogate (Election Day Part 1, along with Baker and Griffith).
- ↑ Mentioned by Josh in Swiss Diplomacy as another Democratic senator planning to run and therefore unhappy about Bartlet locking up precinct captains for Hoynes in early states
- ↑ Freedonia
- ↑ Triplehorn was previously established as a likely 2006 candidate in Swiss Diplomacy. However, while a leaked script of Opposition Research references him as a candidate and donor to a New Hampshire state senator, the finished episode instead mentions Clarkson in the same scene and he is not mentioned as a candidate during the 2006 primary episodes. This was possibly to spare Santos the difficulty of facing a high-ranking Democratic congressional leader on top of two vice presidents. http://westwing.bewarne.com/extras/spoilerblog1-05.html[1]
- ↑ Speculated by Josh as her motivation (and/or Triplehorn's) for not wanting Lewis Berryhill as vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee in Jefferson Lives
- ↑ Viewed by White House staff as a strong contender if nominated as Bartlet's replacement vice president, but vetoed by Fields, Triplehorn and congressional Republicans on those grounds (Jefferson Lives)
- ↑ An openly LGBT progressive congresswoman regarded as a "serious name" by Will Bailey if she had been selected for vice president in 2003, and respected by Toby Ziegler, but opposed by Josh Lyman and Ziegler as unelectable and ultimately passed over for Bob Russell - Jefferson Lives
- ↑ A six-term Democratic senior Democratic congresswoman regarded as a candidate for high office by Amy Gardner. Also respected by Matt Santos and Josh Lyman - Requiem
- ↑ Ninety Miles Away
- ↑ In God We Trust