John Hoynes

John Hoynes
The West Wing character
Tim Matheson as John Hoynes
First appearance	"Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc"
Last appearance	"Requiem"
Created by	Aaron Sorkin
Portrayed by	Tim Matheson
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Vice President of the United States (Seasons 1-4) Two-time Democratic presidential candidate (before series, Season 6) U.S. Senator (D-TX); Senate Majority Leader (before series)
Family	Suzanne Hoynes (ex-wife) Unnamed second wife
Children	Several unnamed children
Nationality	American

John Hoynes is a fictional character played by Tim Matheson on the American television series The West Wing. A former United States Senator and Senate Majority Leader, Hoynes served as President Josiah Bartlet's Vice President during the first four seasons of the show. Hoynes later sought his own presidential term in the sixth season but was defeated by Congressman Matt Santos.

Like McGarry, John Hoynes is a recovering alcoholic, who hasn't had a drink since college. He attended Southern Methodist University and was once a lawyer, but he made his money in the oil industry. Hoynes has several children and is in his second marriage, divorced from Suzanne. His hometown is Abilene, Texas (4.22). He is stated to be around 10 to 15 years younger than President Bartlet (1.08; 3.09), meaning he was probably born in the mid-1950s, as Bartlet was born in the early 1940s. Hoynes served eight years in the Senate before becoming Vice President, meaning he served from 1991–1999 (1.16). He served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, alongside Senator Sam Wilkinson (R-Kansas) (6.10).

Hoynes is a moderate or conservative Democrat; Senate Minority Leader Tripplehorn (D) feared that Hoynes might "drag the [Democratic] party to the middle" on issues such as gun control, trade and school choice if he were to become President (4.09), and as Vice President, Hoynes lamented the fact that he was no longer "every Republican's favorite Democrat" as he had been when he was a conservative Democratic Senator (3.17). If he were dropped from the 2002 Democratic ticket, White House advisors feared that he still might launch a third-party bid, which would draw Independents and conservative Democrats voters away from President Bartlet (3.17). Josh Lyman also mentions that he is a member of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council (6.13) and has strong ties to business (3.17), but it was also stated that Hoynes was anti-free trade as a Senator (5.19). Hoynes is a proponent of more opportunities for technology use in rural areas, and consequently of federal government legislation funding the same. He believes that the Second Amendment is archaic, but he is disinclined to support harsh gun restrictions during his time as Senator and Vice President. A Russell Campaign attack ad during the 2006 Primaries states that Hoynes had an 84% pro-gun voting record from the NRA and criticized him for changing his position to support more restrictions on handguns once he began running for the presidency again. He refuses to endorse either legalizing or prohibiting same-sex marriage, believing the issue deserves "thoughtful study." He is opposed to ethanol tax credits, seeing ethanol fuel as an ineffective and expensive source of energy and refusing to break a 50–50 Senate tie on the matter. It is said that his opposition to it in the 1998 primaries hurt Hoynes' candidacy. Hoynes was also a leading Democratic opponent of campaign finance reform measures, and was reluctant to support President Bartlet's push on the issue (1.22).