John Hoynes, former Vice President of the United States, is a fictional character played by Tim Matheson on the television serial drama The West Wing.

As a Texas senator, John Hoynes was the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 1998 presidential election. He was, after serving about eight years in the Senate, the Senate Majority Leader, perhaps an example of his political talent (being chosen majority leader after less than eight years). After a long primary battle, Hoynes lost the nomination to New Hampshire Governor Josiah Bartlet. Incidentally, he started losing momentum in that campaign exactly when Josh Lyman, his chief strategist, quit and defected to the Bartlet operation. During the Democratic National Convention, Bartlet invited Hoynes to his hotel room to ask him to join the ticket as his running mate. Bartlet counted on Hoynes to deliver the South, but eventually lost Texas in the general election. In an attempt to show that he trusted him, Bartlet disclosed to Hoynes that he had multiple sclerosis. Hoynes refused to give Bartlet an answer immediately, but eventually accepted. Leo McGarry had initially picked Hoynes as running mate

Hoynes is a proponent of more opportunities for technology use in rural areas, and federal government legislation encouraging that. He believes that the second amendment is archaic, but is disinclined to support harsh gun restrictions. He has avoided explictly endorsing constitutional changes or legislation prohibiting gay marriage, but has not endorsed legalizing it. He believes the issue deserves "thoughtful study".

In the fourth season, it was discovered that Hoynes had leaked classified information to a Washington, D.C. socialite named Helen Baldwin, a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. He told her that he had seen evidence of life on Mars. Hoynes later confessed, "I like to show off." When President Bartlet asked Hoynes if he was in a position to deny the affair, Hoynes informed him that he was resigning the Vice Presidency. President Bartlet and Chief of Staff Leo McGarry fervently discouraged him from doing this, but he insisted, partly because he never really liked the vice presidency.

In the fifth season, it was discovered that Hoynes received a $5 million advance to write a tell-all book entitled "Full Disclosure." Its aim was to repair his image so that he could successfully run for the presidency to succeed President Bartlet in the 2006 election. He did an interview with Diane Mathers (a Barbara Walters-Diane Sawyer composite), wife by his side, as part of this effort. His candidacy was announced in the sixth season episode "A Change is Gonna Come."

However, he was unable to get his 1998 campaign strategist and (at the time he asked) White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman to agree to run his campaign again. John Hoynes speaks fluent French and is a recovering alcoholic. He is also quite the womanizer, apparently having had a one-night stand with White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg some ten years before the fifth season. He attended Southern Methodist University and was a lawyer, but made his money in the oil industry.

He has several children and is in his second marriage, to wife Suzzane.

Recently, his campaign in the primary election of 2006, for which he has been a serious contender, was "temporarily suspended" as he retreated to Washington to be with his family. This, after a tabloid paid a former Senate staffer to share her old tale of sexual involvement (excluding any actual sex) with the then-senator. Judging by the comments of California Governor Tillman, Campaign Manager of (Vice President) Russell's campaign Will Bailey, and the media, among many others; and in consideration of being dogged by rumors of his sexual exploits since the Senate, which only subsided after the book and interview, his political career is effectively over.

This has been confirmed by the season six finale, in which he wound up as neither the presidential candidate or the running mate for the 2006 election on the Democratic side.

See also

• The West Wing
• Characters on The West Wing
• List of The West Wing episodes