The Race by Richard North Patterson

The Race - Corey Grace had grown up knowing he was special in middle town America and he hated it. As soon as he could he joined the Air Force Academy, where again he excelled, and then joined the Gulf War in Saudi Arabia. There he was captured, held prisoner, and tortured. When he returned home, a hero, his home state elected him senator, and he started his rise to the Oval Office. Which is what the focus of the story is, the presidential campaign, rather, the wheeling and dealing behind the close doors of the campaigns. It also illustrates how the campaigns are organized, who does what etc.. and the affect it has on the candidates and to a smaller extent on the candidates families.