Don Butler

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Don Butler
Record
Profession	Televangelist
Backstage
Portrayed by	Don S. Davis
Season(s)	6

The Reverend Donald Butler (R-Virginia) finished second in the 2006 Republican Primaries behind Senator Arnold Vinick. As a senior reverend in the American Christian Assembly, he and their political advisor George Rohr would later lobby Vinick to commit to appointing pro-life judges.

Background

Butler grew up in poverty in "a trailer in Appalachia" and his 2006 campaign was headquartered in Virginia. He was also a leader in the American Christian Assembly, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

While in the early stages of the 2006 Republican primaries Glen Allen Walken, Allard and Vinick were described as the main contenders, after Vinick established his status as frontrunner and others dropped out, Butler was the only candidate left standing. He won a number of primaries in Southern and conservative states that Vinick "never could win". Vinick and Butler got along personally and both supported tax cuts, but they differed on the environment, trade tariffs and, most of all, on abortion. Their differences on abortion in particular led Butler to pre-emptively decline a VP offer from Vinick and later lobby him through the ACA to appoint pro-life judges.

Behind the Scenes

He referred to his supporters as "the Butler Brigade" in the episode where he lost the nomination to Arnold Vinick. Pat Buchanan, a real-life Republican presidential candidate similarly called his supporters "Buchanan Brigades" in speeches made in his primary campaigns in 1992 and 1996. He may also have been modelled on Pat Robertson, a televangelist from Virginia who won several states in 1988 Republican presidential primaries. Before airing, leaked scripts had the character named "Pat Butler".