Character

Poll Respondents

skeptical misinformed budget-conscious

Poll respondents reveal widespread public misconceptions about foreign aid, pegging it at 15% of the federal budget (actual: 1%) and opposing it 68-59% in push polls. Their skepticism fuels White House panic in Josh's bullpen, where results prompt resignation threats and a scramble for Senator Hardin's vote before midnight deadline. This group embodies electoral pressures on spending, forcing staff to counter distorted perceptions amid tight policy fights.

3 appearances

Also known as: respondents, voters, RESPONDANTS

Poll Respondents's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

3 moments

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Countdown Panic: Josh’s Resignation and the Hardin Gamble

Represented as anxious/populist pressure — distrustful of foreign spending and responsive to framing.

The poll respondents are the catalyst: their aggregated answers are quoted verbatim and used as hard evidence to justify immediate, high-stakes action and political triage within the West Wing.

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S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Start the Clock — Hardin Becomes the Swing Vote

Collective negativity toward foreign aid; essentially angry or suspicious (as presented by the poll).

Acts as the diffuse but powerful presence behind the crisis: the polled public whose negative views on foreign aid create the political imperative driving Josh's actions.

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S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Counting Down — Josh Stonewalls Will

Not an emotional agent per se; their aggregated hostility to foreign aid functions as a destabilizing pressure on the White House.

Poll respondents are invoked via quoted statistics that drive panic: their answers (68%/59%) become the proximate cause of tactical decisions and Josh's emotional meltdown.

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Affiliation

Democratic Party