He was heckled by a member of the audience for claiming that Head Start didn't work, but perhaps his most surprising comment and show of blunt honesty was his remark that he would not create any new jobs, saying that, in a free society, entrepreneurs, not the government, create jobs. In the middle of the campaign, as Vinick enjoyed a massive lead over Santos, a nuclear reactor in Southern California comes close to meltdown, creating a panic for millions living in the vicinity. In the episode "Duck and Cover" it is revealed that Vinick, as a Senator from California, pushed for the plant's opening and speedy approval by regulators. The reactor did not melt down, although when the story broke that Vinick was a significant supporter of the plant, his poll numbers dropped dramatically, putting numerous states, including California (which, despite leaning Democratic in presidential elections in both reality and the show, was thought to be safe for Vinick, given that was his home state), into play and causing the election to become too close to call. After a staff shakeup prompted by the Republican National Committee, Vinick decided to go to California on the heels of the Santos campaign, and hold a press conference outside of the San Andreo plant in order to defuse the political fallout from the incident. His strategy seems to have been sufficient, as he returned to his straight-talking style, exhausting reporters of their questions and commandeering live news coverage from his opponent's campaign. Despite this strategy's success (the Senator won his home state of California), Vinick lost the presidential election to Santos by 272 electoral votes to 266. Vinick conceded the election after Nevada, the decisive state, was carried by Santos by about 30,000 votes. Although Vinick was urged by his staff to contest the election, he refused to do so, saying "I will be a winner or a loser, but I will not be a sore loser." After the election, Vinick appeared to be positioning himself to run again in four years against Santos, but his advisors tried to convince him that there were other Republicans who should run and that his age would be a hindrance. It is stated that Vinick would be seventy by the next election. Impressed by his foreign policy acuity and feeling that no Democrat could do the job equally well, President-elect Santos asked Vinick, his first choice to join his administration as Secretary of State with Santos saying to Vinick "You are the best strategic thinker I know." Vinick initially turned him down, but his top aides, persuading him that a next run at the presidency would be futile, told him he could go down in history as "the last honorable Senator and a great Secretary of State."