The West Wing
Election Day, Part 2
TV Flash files “Election Day, Part 2” as hour 149 of 154 in the TV Flash guide — The West Wing (1999–2006) on NBC, season 7, episode 17, aired 2006-04-09, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S07E17: listed hour 149 of 154 in the The West Wing guide, hour 17 of 22 in season 7. It aired 2006-04-09 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Election Day, Part 1” (S07E16). Next is “Requiem” (S07E18).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
As the polls close, and results are tallied, emotions run high as the campaign teams make last minute calls to secure undecided votes. The heart-breaking news of Leo's death sends shockwaves through the Santos camp and the Bartlet administration. Meanwhile, Vinick disagrees with his campaign team on a number of issues, including their reaction to Leo's death. The long, razor-thin election campaign is finally over and the new President of the United States of America is declared. It's a sad day for all as Bartlet and his current staff, as well as some friends from the past, come together for Leo's funeral. And now President-Elect Matthew Santos must choose a new Vice President. C.J. and Danny enjoy a touching moment, and Charlie offers Donna career advice.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Election Day, Part 2 sit in the The West Wing guide?
S07E17 is listed hour 149 of 154 — hour 17 of 22 in season 7, season 7 episode 17.
When did The West Wing S07E17 air?
Election Day, Part 2 aired 2006-04-09 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
The pilot. The walk-and-talk contract is the show. If the first hour’s pep talk feels like a recruitment ad, that is the thesis, not a bug.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it for the music of people who still believe the job can be noble — network prestige as civic romance, not documentary. The Sorkin years are the novel; later seasons are the building after the composer leaves. If you want power ugly, that is another desk. This one wanted the walk.
Listen to the footsteps first. The West Wing is a drama of motion: staffers cutting corners of the set as if speed were a moral quality. Aaron Sorkin did not invent the walk-and-talk, but he made it a civic rhythm — information as music, governance as a job you could love if the lighting were kind. Martin Sheen’s Bartlet is not a president so much as a conductor. The orchestra is the communications shop, the counsel’s office, the people who speak in complete sentences because the show believes they should.
Filed against
- Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet
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- Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman
Bradley Whitford made Josh Lyman the volatile heart of The West Wing — walk-and-talks, loyalty, and Sorkin velocity as character. Commander Joseph Lawrence on The Handmaid’s Tale later proved he could play moral gray at dystopia volume.…
- Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler
Richard Schiff’s Toby Ziegler is The West Wing’s communications shop as a growl — walk-and-talk idealism with a speechwriter who would not smile for the civic romance. Aaron Sorkin made governance a job you could love if the lighting were…
- John Spencer as Leo McGarry
John Spencer’s Leo McGarry is The West Wing’s still center in motion — walk-and-talk idealism, Sorkin’s music in the corridors, a chief of staff who treats speed as a moral quality. NBC workplace epic, White House as job you could love.…
- Dulé Hill as Charlie Young
Dulé Hill played Charlie Young on The West Wing — presidential aide as the human tempo inside Sorkin's walk-and-talk civic romance. Competence without a podium. TV Flash files him as the staffer who made the White House feel like a…