Topic: Robert Ritchie

Robert Ritchie is a fictional character played by James Brolin on the television serial drama The West Wing. The character is a two-term Governor of Florida and Republican nominee in the 2002 presidential election.

Ritchie runs for the nomination during his final term as Florida Governor, meaning he won the Governorship in 1996. It is revealed during Season 7 that Ritchie defeated Carol Gelsey 54-46% during that election, and was re-elected in 2000 with 61 percent of the vote. Ritchie is somewhat of a come-from-behind nominee in the 2002 election season, with most political analysts believing the Republicans would never nominate such an intellectually simple candidate to combat the self-named "Education President" Josiah Bartlet. Even when polls show Ritchie pulling even with the then-frontrunner South Dakota Senator Jim Simon, (who is never seen or mentioned again) most of the senior White House staff doesn't believe he could win. Only Bartlet and Toby Ziegler, as Bartlet puts it, "know different." Vice President John Hoynes also warns the White House staff that they should take Ritchie seriously.

Ritchie is assumed to be the official Republican nominee after the episode "Hartsfield's Landing", which is the only episode showing any actual primary activity.