Matt Santos being sworn in as President on January 20, 2007
In 2005, a young, little known Texas Congressman mounted a long shot for the Presidency. This man was Matthew Santos, and no one gave him a serious chance of winning. However, a stunning speech at the 2006 Democratic National Convention allowed him to steal the nomination at the last second. Selecting former Labor Secretary and White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry as his running mate, he faced moderate Republican Senator from California Arnold Vinick, and his running mate, West Virginia Governor Ray Sullivan. In a result that stunned everyone, Rep. Santos won the election, but Sec. McGarry died on election night due to a heart attack. After the Senate voted in Pennsylvania Governor Eric Baker as his Vice President, both he and Santos were sworn in. With Vinick as Secretary of State, people were looking at this young President, and saw a bright future.
However, this came crashing down.
In 2008, the housing bubble, at its height suring Santos' election in 2006, the bubble burst. Thousands lost their jobs and homes, and the US dollar plunged every day for a long while. The other thing that plunged was Santos' approval rating. In November, Republicans retook both houses of Congress, and preparations for 2010 got underway. The first to announce was Ray Sullivan, Vinick's 2006 running mate, former Governor and now US Senator for West Virginia. After a drawn out primary battle, he won the nomination, selecting his main opponent and Speaker of the House Jeff Haffley.
Santos, surprisingly, didn't face a primary challenge, but nonetheless, was damaged goods. It was evident in his lethargic campaigning, a marked contrast from just four years ago. In the end, he lost the election in a landslide to Sullivan, who has proceeded to run a conservative administration.
With our favorite characters though, things have been going better than expected. Sam Seaborn was recruited to run for Attorney-General in California by grasroots activists in 2008. His underdog campaign surprisingly won him the general election, after finishing second in the blanket primary. In 2012, Seaborn ran for Governor, and won a narrow victory. Josh Lyman was recruited to run for the Senate seat in Connecticut, his home state. Lyman ran a strong campaign, and won against all odds. Donna Moss meanwhile has been working inside the Democratic machine, and is now serving as Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee.
Canonical characters available:
Democrats:
Sen. Josh Lyman (Jake Jewvinivisk)
Gov. Sam Seaborn (brucejoel99)
Executive Director Donna Moss
Fmr. Pres. Matt Santos
Fmr. Vice Pres. Eric BakerRepublicans:
Pres. Ray Sullivan (Dkrol)
Vice Pres. Jeff Haffley
Fmr. Sec. Arnold Vinick
Fmr. Gov. Mike Reed
Gov. Darren Gibson 
