Editing The West Wing (section)

===1998 presidential election===
Bartlet's first campaign for president is never significantly explored in the series. Bartlet is stated to have won the election with 48% of the popular vote, 48 million votes, and a 303–235 margin in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]. Of three debates between Bartlet and his [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] opponent, it is mentioned that Bartlet won the third and final debate, held eight days before election day in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. [[Josh Lyman]] says that in the days prior to the election, "Bartlet punched through a few walls" since the result seemed too close to call before the result broke his way. [[Leo McGarry]] says the same thing in "[[Bartlet for America]]" when he says, "It was eight days to go, and we were too close to call".
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The campaign for the Democratic nomination is extensively addressed. In the episodes "[[In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I]]", "[[In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II]]", and "Bartlet for America", flashbacks are used to show Bartlet defeating Texas Senator [[John Hoynes]] ([[Tim Matheson]]) and [[Washington (state)|Washington]] Senator William Wiley for the Democratic nomination and later choosing Hoynes as his running mate. The flashbacks also show Leo McGarry persuading Bartlet, then [[Governor of New Hampshire]], to run for president.