Tonight while watching Scandal, I realized there have been entirely too many people in the role of press secretary. People with this position end up dead or blackmailed. There have been more press secretaries than seasons of the show. Here is the master list of mentioned White House Press Secretaries:
1. Britta Kagan
This poor gal was the first press secretary of the Grant administration. As a loyal staffer, Ms. Kagan was shot along alongside President Grant when they arrived at his birthday dinner (season 2). President Grant recovered and Kagan died.
2. Olivia Pope
In the wake of the Grant shooting, Olivia Pope came back to the White House (season She guided the administration through a challenging media storm. She also helped the staff make it appear President Grant was ready to resusme power from VP Sally Langston way before he was ready.
3. Jeannine Locke
Although never offically named on the show, Jeannine became the de facto press secretary. She took on the press in season 3 after Olivia retired and went back to professional fixing. Locke was forced to leave the White House after a very public declatation as the president's mistress. She sacrificed herself (and recieved a nice payout) to protect Olivia and President Grant's secret relationship.
4. James Novak
Novak was was a journalist who bargained with his husband, Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene, to get a baby. As an out of work stay-at-home dad, Novak leveraged his husband again to get the open Press secrstary job. This time, the stakes were much higher. James was tricked by bis husband into having an affair with VP Langston's closeted husband, all in the name of outing the man and ruining the VP's presidential campaign. Then James discovered his husband covered up VP Langston's murder of her sinner husband (season 3). There were a lot of complicated emotions involved there. When James began leaking details of the murder to the attorney general (under an alias), he was killed by Jake, the leader of a super secret US-based CIA organization, B-613.
5. Olivia Pope (again)
In the season 5 finale, Olivia held a press conference announcing the death of President Fitzgarald's son, Jerry.
6. Abby Wheelan
Abby begins season 4 as the new press secretary for President Grant's second term. Olivia goes awol at the end of season 4 and shuts down Pope and Associates, leaving abby to find a new job. 'Red' became President Fitz's work wife and was promoted to Chief of Staff, which she remained into season 5. She left the White House in a scandal as well.
7. Marcus Walker
I have no idea if there was a press awcratarybin between Abby and Marcus, be he was defibtely press secrstary5 in season 6. Walker fell in love with Mrs. Grant during her run for office (season 5-6) and left with her ex-husband to start a foundation at the beginning of season 7.
8. Audrey Campo
Audrey was seen on screen as the press secretary for President Mellie Grant in tonight's episode when Olivia falsely promised to resign as chief of staff.
