The staff celebrates election night and encourages Sam to run for the seat in Orange County; Toby continues to worry about how Andrea's pregnancy will play politically for both of them; a coup develops in Venezuela; Jed and Abbey endure some interruptions at their private celebration.

Bartlet plays hardball to end the genocide in Kundu; after the entire speechwriting staff quits, Will is forced to rely on Elsie and some inexperienced interns to write tax policy remarks; the trip to California to help Sam's campaign gets off to a rocky start; Sam refuses to let Bartlet hold off the Democratic response to the Republican tax plan because it might hurt the campaign; Toby and Charlie get arrested coming to Andy's defense after a drunk accosts her; Bartlet fires Sam's campaign manager and replaces him with Toby.

The fallout on the Hill from Carrick's switch to the Republican party exiles Josh deep into a White House doghouse, so C.J. gives Donna some tips on how she can support him; Jed gets a harsh reality check from C.J. when he lingers too long in a small Oklahoma town devastated by a deadly tornado; in Jed's absence, Leo juggles an impending war between Albania and Greece, a visit from the German chancellor, a tussle over tax cuts, and an over-reaching Secretary of Defense; Josh and Toby are less than thrilled when Leo brings Angela on board to assume some of Josh's responsibilities.

A documentary camera crew follows C.J. around for a not-so-typical day in the White House.

After the near-nuclear disaster at the power plant the polls show surprising, or maybe not so surprising, results for both candidates. The Vinick camp gears up for backlash while the Santos camp hopes for cause to celebrate. Meanwhile Bartlet is still trying to keep the situation in Central Asia under control. Relationships in the Santos campaign, the Vinick campaign, and the West Wing all undergo changes and Vinick and Bartlet attempt to deal with different versions of the cold.

Election Day finally arrives, and between analyzing exit polls, and mulling over news reports, a few Santos staff members discover the joys of campaign romance. Meanwhile, C.J. ponders life after the White House; and Annabeth makes a tragic discovery.