Split Ticket

Based on the novel Split Ticket by California Senator H.L. Richardson, to which I own the rights. SYNOPSIS Doug finds out he has been elected California Assemblyman after his wife ran a campaign without him knowing about it. He promises her he will become governor because she wants him to, and then she loses her life in a car accident. He follows through with his promise and gets promoted to caucus chairman, where he throws a fund raiser and is stricken by Jamie, the country singer he hired. Jamie is a staunch Democrat, and will not go out with a Republican Assemblyman, so he gets a place in her home town of Placerville and goes in disguise as Hank in western wear. He is most successful at his political office in Sacramento, but spends his off hours an hour away in Placerville to hook up with Jamie. And when she meets his alter ego, she really likes him. Jamie asks Hank to help her political efforts at the County Board of Supervisors meeting, and he does a very good job. He uses Doug's connections to uncover unethical behavior, and returns to another Board meeting, where he exposes the Chairman's behavior. Now the county likes him, and she likes him even more. Hank and Jamie spend time together, sharing their common interest of country music. She takes the initiative to get him registered to vote in time for the special election to replace the Chairman. So when they show up at the election, and all the people ask for him to take the office, all she has to do is plead with her eyes, and he takes it. Now he is a Republican Assemblyman and a Democrat Supervisor, and very successful at both. Hank gets state coverage for turning the county around, and finds out in front of Jamie that Doug is running for governor because the current governor announced immediate retirement due to health issues. Then Doug finds out that Jamie has filed Hank to run for governor. Now he is the leading Democrat and Republican for governor, and has to get himself out of this before the debate. So he funds a campaign for Jamie to run for governor, which she accepts. But she also arranges for the debate to take place between Doug and Hank, where she discovers the truth that they are one and the same person. Jamie pours herself into her own campaign for governor without making Doug's secret known. Doug comes back to Jamie to win her back. He confesses the truth about Hank and the feelings he has for her that allowed him to become a Democrat for her, but she wants nothing to do with this man who has been so dishonest with her. Doug goes public with his dishonesty, confesses the illegal identity of Hank as his own doing, and proposes to Jamie. She accepts his proposal, he is charged as a criminal, and Jamie gets elected governor of California. They celebrate at the Governor's Mansion with live country music that they play together.