Character

Herman Morton

pragmatic influential policy-leveraging

Herman Morton operates as a Republican senator whose vote Josh Lyman probes in the Republican cloakroom during tense foreign aid bill negotiations. Jane Cleery counters that flipping Morton demands rewriting the education bill, marking him as a swing vote with leverage across policy areas. His potential support hinges on major concessions, underscoring his role in the narrow margin separating passage from defeat amid quorum pressures and poll-driven caution.

2 appearances

Herman Morton's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

2 moments

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Cloakroom Count: One Vote Short

Not present; politically calculating by proxy—his stance is presented as negotiable only at high cost.

Herman Morton is invoked by Josh as a potential flip; he does not speak but functions as a named lever—Jane immediately rebuts that turning Morton would demand rewriting the education …

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S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

One Vote Down — Poll Cover and the Quorum Call

Not present; portrayed as strategically cautious and requiring policy concessions to be moved.

Herman Morton is invoked as a hypothetical swing vote — Josh asks about him and Jane answers that flipping Morton would require rewriting the education bill, positioning him as transactional …

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Affiliation

Senate Leadership