House of Cards Season 5 Episode 5 Congressional Election
James Foley
Director
David Fincher
Director
Kevin Spacey
Francis Underwood
Robin Wright
Claire Underwood
Michael Joseph Kelly
Doug Stamper
Plot Summary:Nine weeks after Election Day, neither William nor Frank secured 270 electoral votes due to Ohio and Tennessee refusing to certify their results, allowing Frank to remain in the White House. This sparked anger among opponents, who gathered outside the White House fence, demonstrating with signs. Congress is in chaos, the Supreme Court lacks justices, the executive branch is leaderless, and the government is on the verge of shutdown. According to the Twelfth Amendment, in such a situation, the House of Representatives and the Senate will each vote to elect the President and Vice President. William, who should have won the election but is now forced to accept a congressional vote, is seething with rage. The lost victory makes it difficult for him to control his temper. Four days later, Congress will determine the presidential candidate, with major media outlets debating the issue. According to LeAnn's statistics, Frank's approval rating is less than 20%, and Claire's is slightly higher, but only 30%. So she compiled a list of senators to lobby, with the biggest challenges being freshman Indiana Senator Susan Newman and Hawaii Senator Kairy Quillema. Since Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, Claire's situation is not as urgent. LeAnn has reason to worry that Claire might become William's Vice President, which Frank absolutely does not want. Frank makes full use of his limited time to lobby senators from key states, his leverage being the various benefits he promises upon election. Claire is also racing against time to contact senators and pave the way for their proposed bills. Both are counting votes one by one, not missing a single opportunity. Claire invites Susan and Kairy to the White House for a more personal discussion. But she didn't expect to hear their other concerns from Susan and Kairy. If the House votes for William as the next president and the Senate elects Claire as vice president, then the president and vice president would belong to two different parties, causing many unnecessary problems. Due to Frank's past transgressions, many people don't believe he will win in the House. This would inevitably implicate Claire, and some might therefore cast their votes for William's running mate, General Brockhart. Claire begins to consider whether to run separately from Frank to avoid her career being affected by him. Only two days remain until the congressional election. The situation in the House is still unclear, with 21 states confirmed to support Frank, 23 for William, and the remaining 6 states undecided. As individual Democratic governors choose to support William, Frank decides to take a chance. After securing support from 3 swing states, Frank spends several hours on the last day, using gentle persuasion, coercion, and temptation, finally gaining support from the crucial state of Maine. However, Doug's efforts in New Hampshire and Wisconsin made no progress, causing Frank to fly into a rage and even doubt Doug's loyalty. Doug, who dedicated his life's work to Frank, feels resentment upon hearing this. Trouble continues as Aidan, unable to bear the political game, flees with the collected classified information. He also warns LeAnn that if agents come looking for him, he will expose Frank and Claire's secrets. On the day of the congressional vote, Claire is shocked to learn that Senate Majority Leader Vice President Donald is delaying the vote, awaiting the House's results. Claire is both angry and powerless to refute Donald's claim of "country over party." Donald's actions essentially direct senators to vote for Brockhart. But a dramatic turn of events occurs: Maine's shift to Frank's side results in both presidential candidates receiving an equal number of votes, 25 each. In this scenario, the outcome of the Senate vote will determine the interim president, with the new vice president acting as president until the House ultimately selects the next president. Claire now sees an opportunity to surpass Frank.