Ray Sullivan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Vinick, a U.S. Senator from California.
Vinick's first choice as running mate was the Reverend Don Butler, a conservative televangelist from Virginia. Vinick defeated Butler in the Republican primaries and, despite Butler's strong criticism of Vinick's pro-choice views on abortion, thought highly of him. Without ever specifically being offered the vice presidential nomination, Butler told Vinick that he could serve neither as his running mate nor as his vice president, given their very different views on the abortion issue.
Vinick then turned to Gov. Ray Sullivan of West Virginia, who was highly recommended by his staff and by other Republicans. Sullivan was bright and personable, a former United States Attorney noted for his crime-fighting as a prosecutor, specifically targeting white-collar crime. He was pro-life on abortion, but welcomed the chance to run with Vinick. Once nominated at the Republican National Convention, he fulfilled the "attack dog" role often expected of running mates, blasting the administration of Democratic incumbent President Josiah Bartlet.
In the wake of Vinick's narrow defeat in the 2006 election, Governor Sullivan was widely seen as the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2010. His previously hard-line conservative image seemed to have softened, as he was described as a "Vinick Republican."
