Senator Starkey was a Democrat whom Speaker of the House Jeff Haffley put forward as a potential vice president after John Hoynes's resignation. Like the other candidates, he was chosen because he was unlikely to be a threat to the Republican nominee in the 2006 Presidential Election.
Toby Ziegler believed Starkey was more likely to keel over in the next three years than President Bartlet; nonetheless, he was brought in to meet the president. He told Toby and Josh Lyman that as vice president he could take over Bartlet's ceremonial burdens and thereby strengthen the agenda.