Jeff Heston

From West Wing Wiki

Thomas Jefferson Heston (1960-) was Governor of Utah from 1993-2005 and Governor Robert Ritchie's running mate in the 2002 presidential election. Heston is currently a U.S. Senator from Utah.

Heston was born and raised in Utah. Heston condiderd becoming an actor like his hero, Ronald Reagan, He decided against however, and went into the morgege business.

In 1982, Heston was elected to the Utah State House of Representatives, and was re-elected in 1986. Heston was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988, defeating an incumbent Democrat in the Republican swep of that year. After winning re-election in 1990, Heston won the 1992 Republican gubernatoral primary and was elected Governor that November with over 60% of the vote. Heston was only 32 when he became governor but he soon became known for his integraty and ability, and was named one of the 5 best governors by TIME magazine in 1997. Heston won re-election in 1996 with 87% percent of the vote (having won both the Republican and Democratic primaries). Heston was on David Eisenhower's short list for vice president in 1998 (Eisenhower chose Alabama Senator Robert J. Bennett as his running-mate).

After winning a third term as governor in 2000, Heston was chosen as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2002. Although Heston was known as a gifted orator and handsome politican, questions about his Mormon background rose during the campaign.

After the Ritchie/Heston ticket was defeated in a landslide by Bartlet/Hoynes, Heston completed his third term and retired because of Utah's three-term limit for its governors. Heston had been expected by some to run for President in 2006, but decided against it and ran instead for U.S. Senator against incumbent Democrat Joe Warren. Heston narrowly defeated Warren by 1% of the vote, and took his seat in January, 2007.