Ray Sullivan
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. Several of the comments he made at the convention stirred up controversy when they were seen to have been in mockery of the president's
multiple sclerosis.
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."
The West Wing*
List of characters on The West Wing*
List of politicians on The West Wing*
List of The West Wing episodes
