Matt Santos
Encyclopedia
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...

. His initial appearance is as a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then Illinois State Senator
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...

 (and later U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 and President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

) Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

.

Personal life

Santos, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

, was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was born in either 1963 (in 2005, Josh says Santos is 42) or in 1961 (in 2006, Santos himself says he is 45). One of seven children born to Luis and Marita Santos, he grew up in the Second Ward
Second Ward, Houston
Second Ward is a historical political district ward in Houston, Texas. It was one of the four original wards of the city in the nineteenth century...

 — the oldest Mexican-American neighborhood in Houston and home to six generations of the Santos family. Luis Santos was a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....

, while Marita Santos was a domestic servant.

He has been married to Helen Santos
Helen Santos
Helen Santos is a fictional First Lady of the United States in the television drama The West Wing. She is the wife of Matt Santos played by Jimmy Smits. She became First Lady in the seventh season episode "Tomorrow," when her husband was inaugurated as President of the United States...

 (played by Teri Polo
Teri Polo
Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...

) for fifteen years, and they have two young children, Peter and Miranda, who are eleven and five, respectively, at the time of their father's inauguration.

Santos attended Walter Reed Junior High School in Texas. He then attended the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 at Annapolis, graduating at the top of his class with a degree in Engineering. At Annapolis, he played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 until he injured his knee. Santos speaks three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese). He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, ultimately achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

. Santos qualified as a combat pilot, and saw action during the first Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

. Upon retiring from active duty in 1993 he served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

Santos was elected to the Houston City Council
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...

, where he served for two years until his election as mayor. He served for four years (two terms of two years) as mayor, during which he opened four new health-care clinics to serve Houston's families. As mayor, Santos also created a new housing assistance program to make rent more affordable for the city's two million residents. Santos was then elected to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 during the 2000 midterm elections
The Midterms
"The Midterms" is the 25th episode of The West Wing and the 3rd episode of the second season.-Plot:This episode is fast paced, taking place over the course of 12 weeks at the end of the 106th Congress, and focusing primarily on the run-up to the midterm elections. Josh is out of the office for the...

 representing the 18th Congressional District
Texas's 18th congressional district
Texas District 18 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that serves much of inner city Houston and the surrounding area...

 and served for three terms. It was mentioned that during his third term as a congressman he had received a spot on the prestigious House Committee on Ways and Means
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

, although he also served on the House Administration Committee
United States House Committee on House Administration
The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:...

 ("the Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

 of committees") with then-congressman Bob Russell
Bob Russell (The West Wing)
Robert 'Bingo Bob' Russell is a fictional character played by Gary Cole on the television serial drama The West Wing.After the resignation of Vice President John Hoynes due to a sex scandal in May 2003, the Bartlet Administration was forced to replace him with another Democrat...

.

Presidential campaign

Santos is first seen as a member of United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, who while regarded as an effective legislator and a potential candidate for Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...

 is nonetheless about to retire due to his frustration with Washington politics and plans to return to Houston and open more health-care clinics alongside those he created while he was the Mayor there. However, then Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Deputy White House Chief of Staff
The White House Deputy Chief of Staff is officially the top aide to the White House Chief of Staff, who is the senior aide to the President of the United States. The Deputy Chief of Staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the White House...

 Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...

 convinces him to run for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, and becomes his campaign manager. He began his run for the Democratic nomination as a long-shot candidate with little name recognition or funding; polls showed him far behind the sitting Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 Bob Russell
Bob Russell (The West Wing)
Robert 'Bingo Bob' Russell is a fictional character played by Gary Cole on the television serial drama The West Wing.After the resignation of Vice President John Hoynes due to a sex scandal in May 2003, the Bartlet Administration was forced to replace him with another Democrat...

 and the former Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

 John Hoynes
John Hoynes
John Hoynes is a fictional character played by Tim Matheson on the American television series The West Wing. Hoynes is Vice President of the United States during the first four seasons of the show....

. However, as the primaries progressed, Santos rose to third place in most opinion polls. On the day before the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 primary, Hoynes was engulfed in a sex scandal. He had already been forced to resign as President Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...

's Vice President in a similar scandal three years before, and his further sexual impropriety allowed Santos to receive the implicit endorsement of the Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

, helping him to win the primary in an upset victory.

One of his major Presidential campaign platform planks is the reform of public education in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Santos says the school year should be at least 240 days out of the year, in order for America to more effectively compete in the world marketplace. He also supports increased teacher accountability through decreasing teacher tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...

.

Picking up steam, Santos proceeded to win primaries in many more states. By the start of the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

, he had won enough delegates to virtually tie with the front-runner, Russell, and had won such major battleground states as Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Prior to the convention, Santos turned down Russell's offer of the Vice-Presidential nomination and aimed to win the top spot on the ticket.

During the convention, Governor Eric Baker of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, who had previously decided against running for President and turned down Russell's offer of the Vice-Presidential nomination, presented himself as a candidate from the floor, drawing delegate votes from all of the candidates and stretching the balloting to an unprecedented third day. When Will Bailey
Will Bailey
William "Will" Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications, Office of the Vice President and a backbencher Congressman .-Character biography:Will grew up in Belgium, as his...

 revealed to the press that Baker had concealed his wife's history of clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...

, he lost substantial delegate support.

Ordered by the convention organizer, former White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...

 Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...

, to step aside in favor of either Baker or Russell, Santos was given a chance to address the convention with the understanding that it would be his farewell speech.

Instead of withdrawing, however, Santos gave a rousing speech that swung the momentum in the balloting back to him. Thanks to the behind-the-scenes intervention of President Bartlet, who had decided to end the balloting before it further damaged the party's image, Santos received the support of a key New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 teachers' union which had earlier spurned him because of his views on education. Santos clinched the nomination. After Gov. Baker declined the VP offer and Santos made it clear he would not consider retaining Russell as VP, he chose Leo as his Vice-Presidential nominee.

In the seventh season of the show, Congressman Santos and former Secretary McGarry ran against Senator Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda.-Biography:A Republican senator from California and Republican presidential nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat Matt Santos in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular...

 of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

's Presidential nominee, and his running mate, Governor Ray Sullivan
Ray Sullivan
Ray Sullivan was a fictional Republican governor of West Virginia, played by Brett Cullen. He was a recurring character on the American television show The West Wing. He was the Republican Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2006 election, and the running mate of Arnold...

 of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. Throughout the campaign, Santos and Vinick treat each other with mutual respect. (In the episode "King Corn," it is revealed that, two years before the election, Santos and Vinick co-sponsored an immigration reform bill that was defeated in committee on Capitol Hill.)

In Santos's only debate
The Debate
"The Debate" is episode 139 of The West Wing. The episode was broadcast live with the NBC watermark on screen. Because of this, there are actually two versions of this episode; one performed live for east coast audiences and a second performed a few hours later for west coast broadcast...

 with Vinick, both candidates agreed to ignore the rules their campaigns had laboriously agreed upon and instead have, in Vinick's words, "a real debate," without time limits on their responses. During the debate, Santos reiterated his commitment to greater federal involvement in public education, opposed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...

, supported a moratorium on the federal death penalty, and pledged never to go to war for oil. He also explained that he had initially supported the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) on the Ways and Means Committee
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

, but then voted against it when special interest amendments were attached. He also criticized Senator Vinick for relying too heavily on tax cuts to grow the economy. Perhaps his most surprising comment of the night, though, came when he said that he "wasn't crazy" about his health care plan, since it would not provide universal coverage, but it was the best he thought he could get through Congress.

After a nuclear plant accident in San Andreo, California, Santos picked up ground in several states after it was revealed that Vinick was key in authorizing construction of the nuclear plant in question, rattling voters whose states contained prominent nuclear plants. Several days later, national polls showed that Santos was tied with Vinick at 44%.

Election aftermath

Despite the death of his running mate Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...

 on election night, Santos was narrowly elected President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 after defeating Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda.-Biography:A Republican senator from California and Republican presidential nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat Matt Santos in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular...

 in the Electoral College by a vote of 272-266. Santos carried his home state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, while Vinick won his home state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

; Santos clinched the election by winning Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 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
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

 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 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
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....

, with Josh Lyman being appointed as his Chief of Staff. Lyman recruits his old friend and former White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...

 as his deputy. From the Santos-McGarry campaign come Louise Thornton
Louise Thornton
Louise "Lou" Thornton is a character in the NBC television series The West Wing portrayed by Janeane Garofalo. The character's first appearance is in Season 7 of the series.-Character biography:...

 as the new Director of Communication, Ronna Beckman
Ronna Beckman
Ronna Beckman is a character in the NBC television series The West Wing. She is portrayed by Karis Campbell. The character first appeared during the program's sixth season. She was present from the very beginning of Matt Santos's campaign for the Presidency, eventually becoming the Executive...

 as the President's personal secretary while Donna Moss
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...

 and Annabeth Schott
Annabeth Schott
Annabeth Schott, played by Kristin Chenoweth, is a fictional character on the political drama The West Wing. She joined the Bartlet administration in Season 6 as the Deputy Press Secretary for Media Relations following the promotion of C.J. Cregg to White House Chief of Staff...

 join the First Lady's Office as Chief of Staff and Press Secretary respectively. Amy Gardner
Amy Gardner
Amelia "Amy" Gardner is a fictional character on the American television series The West Wing, portrayed by Mary-Louise Parker. Politically skilled and a strong advocate on feminist causes, the character holds various jobs throughout the timeline depicted on The West Wing, both in public-advocacy...

 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
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, a 2006 Democratic presidential contender who Santos had originally asked to be VP at the Democratic Convention, before selecting Leo McGarry after Baker declined on personal grounds. 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.

See also

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