Succession Season 4: Who is Daniel Jiménez?

Succession Season 4 is set against the backdrop of the US presidential election – so, after being name-dropped in Episode 7, who is Daniel Jiménez?

In our review, we wrote: “Succession’s BPM hits the roof with Season 4 Episode 7, a lightning-fast dose of harsh dialogue and characters at their snakiest – and even this close to the end, the plates are still shifting.”

Politics have always loomed over Succession in one way or another, whether it’s Shiv working for Gil Eavis in Season 1, Logan Roy calling up the “raisin”, or the congressional hearing over the cruise line scandal in Season 2.

In Season 4, the war for control of Waystar Royco is running alongside the battle for the White House – so, here’s everything you need to know about Daniel Jiménez.

Who is Daniel Jiménez in Succession?

Daniel Jiménez is the Democratic candidate for the US presidency in Succession, going up against Jeryd Mencken and the Republicans. He’s played by Elliot Villar.

So far, Jiménez has only been seen and mentioned incredibly briefly. In the first episode of the new season, Roman and Kendall told Shiv they’d heard she was talking to his transition team, possibly as a parachute in the event their joint venture went into free fall.

We’ve met and know much more about Mencken. He first appeared in Season 3 Episode 6, when the Roys gathered at a conference in Virginia to select the next Republican candidate for the election. Mencken isn’t just a conservative, though: he’s a far-right fascist, described by Shiv as a “YouTube provocateur” and “aristo-populist” who talks about “burning Korans and licensing press credentials.”

We also know, purely from the trailers, that Jiménez and Mencken have different attitudes to back-channeling with powerful people: in a later episode, Mencken will ask Roman to characterize any loss as a huge victory, while Jiménez and his team tore into Nate after he considered allying the candidate with the Roys, with Kendall offering to give him an easy ride on ATN for the first 100 days.

As for where you may have seen Villar before, he’s best known for playing Fernando Vera in Mr. Robot.

Succession Season 4 Episodes 1-7 are now streaming on HBO and Sky. Episode 8 will be available to watch on May 14 in the US and May 15 in the UK. Check out our other coverage below:

Season 4 cast | Season 4 release schedule | Season 4 runtimes | Is Succession based on a real family? | Who will succeed Logan Roy? | What time does Succession drop?