LBJ: The Early Years and to help him become even more successful. It is now 1948, and Johnson now is vying for a Senate seat soon to be vacated by a retiring Senator. His promises kept to the people of the hill country, he still must defeat Governor Coke Stevenson, who battles him for a Texas Democratic caucus vote amid rumors of corruption in the form of vote fixing. A 28-28 deadlock is broken when Johnson's staffers pull onto the floor a drunk member (despite goons under the control of Stevenson trying to prevent it), whose vote gains LBJ the Democratic Senate nomination. LBJ
The American President Minnesota senator Howard Stackhouse (George Coe) in the two "West Wing" episodes "The Stackhouse Filibuster" and "The Red Mass". In the same way, the French President attending a state dinner in "The American President" seems to be the same President d'Astier that is often referred to in the "West Wing". Several actors from "The American President" reappear in "The West Wing", including Martin Sheen (whose character in "The American President", A.J., is at one point accused by Shepherd of lacking the courage to run for office himself) as President Josiah Bartlet, Anna Deavere Smith as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy