Smits favoured to take over West Wing presidency

It’s Jimmy Smits over Alan Alda in a landslide as to who should be the next president of the US in the political drama The West Wing.

Pollster John Zogby, who often asks Americans who they think will be elected president, surveyed viewers of show, asking which candidate they prefer for the NBC network’s political drama’s next president – Democratic Representative Matt Santos of Texas, played by Smits, or Republican Senator Arnold Vinick of California, played by Alda.

The second term of Democratic incumbent President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, is coming to an end on the show.

Smits’ character leads Alda’s character 44% to 28% among “West Wing” viewers contacted by computer for the interactive poll.

Vinick, it seems, has a gender problem.

“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 53% to 22%,” Zogby said.

The poll was conducted between February 18 and 25 and the results were based on the answers of 5,505 American adults nationwide who said they were viewers of the show. The poll has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 0.7% points