Don Butler
|
Don Davis as the Reverend Butler. |
Reverend Don Butler is a
fictional conservative
televangelist from
Virginia, played by
Don S. Davis. He is a recurring character on the American television show
The West Wing. He was a candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for
President of the United States in the
2006 election, but was defeated by
Arnold Vinick, a U.S. Senator from
California.
Butler was Vinick's first choice as running mate; despite Butler's strong criticism of Vinick's
pro-choice views on
abortion, Vinick 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 abortion.
Vinick then turned to Gov.
Ray Sullivan of
West Virginia, who accepted the vice presidential nomination.
Though there is no solid evidence to support that Butler's character was modeled after any actual person, there are similarities to televangelist
Pat Robertson, who is based in
Virginia Beach, Virginia and who himself was a presidential candidate in
1988.
*
List of characters on The West Wing*
List of politicians on The West Wing*
List of The West Wing episodes
