Santos Favored over Vinick for Presidency

I thought this was awesome and wanted to share... now Zogby is polling to see who would win a fictional presidential election!

TV’s The West Wing Audience Speaks: Santos Favored over Vinick; Fictional Democrat Would Beat Fictional Republican, 44%-28%; Vinick Plagued by Gender Gap, Weak Showing Among GOPers, New Zogby Poll Reveals

(Utica, NY)—Viewers of NBC’s The West Wing would prefer that Democratic Congressman Matthew Santos were elected the next President, giving him a 16-point lead over Republican Senator Arnold Vinick, a new Zogby Interactive poll finds. The interactive poll of 5,505 West Wing viewers was conducted from February 18 to 25, 2005, and has a margin of error of +/-0.7 percentage points.

Santos, the Texas Congressman played by Jimmy Smits, is the favorite of a plurality in the poll, which was weighted to ensure it reflects the partisan breakdown of the U.S. population, and not just the demographic that views The West Wing frequently or occasionally. Arnold Vinick, the California Senator played by veteran actor Alan Alda, trails significantly. The poll also found one-in-five viewers (19%) still undecided on the race, while 9% are not willing to support either candidate.

The two characters are poised to capture their respective parties’ nominations in the season’s last two episodes, which will take place at the GOP and Democratic nominating conventions. The ultimate winner of the presidential contest will go on to succeed President Jed Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen.

Part of Vinick’s problems can be attributed to a gender gap. While he and Santos are tied among men, each getting 35% of the vote, Santos holds a commanding lead among women, where he outpolls Vinick by 53% to 22%.

Vinick also has failed to sew up Republican support. While Santos has the support of three-quarters of Democrats (74%), Vinick only has a lock on 49% of Republicans. Among independents, meanwhile, Santos leads 39% to 26%.

Unlike the last real U.S. election, the Catholic and Protestant votes are nearly identical, with Santos leading among both groups. He also scores higher among key Democratic constituencies like African Americans, and holds a slimmer lead among whites, where he is up by 41% to 30%.
Santos even outperforms Vinick when viewers are asked to put aside their own political preferences and answer which character would make for a more interesting show. In that instance, Santos takes 44% to Vinick’s 31%.

Pollster John Zogby: “While the American people don’t go to the polls to elect a real-life president for some time, the attention of political junkies will be riveted to their television sets this fall. Unless Vinick can shore up his base, and make inroads among women, expect a Santos victory.

“Expect to see Vinick work to reach out to women as the campaign season wears on.”
Zogby International conducted interviews of 22,126 American adults nationwide, including 5,505 West Wing viewers. All surveys were conducted from servers housed at Zogby International headquarters in Utica, N.Y., from February 18 to 25, 2005. The margin of error is +/-0.7 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in subgroups.

(3/1/2005)