Who was the first presidential candidate you ever voted for?

[multireeds]

Who was the first presidential candidate you ever voted for?
For me it was Michael Dukakis

[Walleye]

1. 1972, California Democratic primary, Shirley Chisholm. McGovern in the general

[Texaswitchy]

3. Me to.

Was a young Precinct Judge.

I worked in a heavy republican precinct.

The Republican judge was terrible.

[sky_masterson]

2. Ross Perot

I was younger and dumber.

[sunflowerseed]

66. Me to

[sky_masterson]

84. Ross is Boss!

(kidding)

[Taraman]

4. George McGovern -- a very good man

[kacekwl]

5. Jimmy Carter

[Sucha NastyWoman]

6. McGovern. I turned 18 the day before

Even back then, voting was important to me, so I had registered in advance.

[electric_blue68]

76. I love that ...

my actual first vote was in '71 (at 18). I'd already done campaign volunteering for Humphrey.

But I so wanted my very first vote to be in the Presidential year.

Good for you for planning ahead!

[brewens]

7. John Anderson. The year they called the west coast early. 1980. I found out when I got home from

work that Reagan had won. I knew Anderson needed a certain number of votes to qualify for the matching funds. My polling place was a block away so I went over there and voted for him. At that time I thought it made sense to encourage third party candidates and it couldn't hurt.

[gademocrat7]

8. Jimmy Carter

[Maine Abu El Banat]

9. James Earl Carter Jr.

[Wicked Blue]

10. McGovern nt

[sinkingfeeling]

11. George McGovern in 1972.

[MiniMe]

12. Jimmy Carter

And every Democrat since then.

[Siwsan]

13. George McGovern n/t

[GP6971]

14. McGovern n/t

[spicysista]

15. Al Gore, 2000.

[livetohike]

16. George McGovern. n/t

[SeattleVet]

17. George McGovern.

My first vote.

Also my first absentee ballot.

I had entered active duty in the Air Force in August, and was in the 2nd month of an 8-month long avionics/electronics tech school in Denver for the election. Made sure I applied for my NY absentee ballot as soon as I got to Denver in October. Fortunately, every Air Force unit has (had??) a 'voting officer'. Usually a newbie 'butter bars' 2nd lieutenant was given that as an additional duty. They were actually very helpful, had all the info needed for all the states, and made sure that all the paperwork was done in a timely and correct manner.

[Dave in VA]

18. George McGovern

[relayerbob]

19. Jimmy Carter, 1976

[bmbmd]

38. Same here. Twice.

Got to meet Chip when he visited my college campus.

[relayerbob]

62. Twice for me, also

[Tomconroy]

20. Jimmy Carter in November. Can't remember about any primary that year.

[Binkie The Clown]

21. JFK nt

[KPN]

22. Why George McGovern of course?

[deRien]

23. Unfortunately,

Nixon but in my defense, my brother was in Viet Nam and I wasn't smart enough to know better at the time...

[Demovictory9]

33. Dang!!!

[brer cat]

24. Damn, I'm old. Lyndon Johnson

[markie]

25. wrote in

Barry Commoner

[Claustrum]

26. Hillary Clinton

[rownesheck]

27. For me,

John Kerry in 2004. I was 28. I got really involved in politics at that time and was even involved in my local democratic party. Good times. I still think he won that election.

[secondwind]

28. Hubert Humphrey.......

Yes, I'm that old, lol.

[electric_blue68]

78. In NYC we had a major teacher's strike so...

after a bit (I was in HS) I decided to go do volunteer work for Humphrey.

My favorite thing was when we were on a flatbed truck, a band near the cab end all festooned with bunting, photos, and balloons.

We went from th low 50's down to 34th St Herald Square We gave out buttons. People took pictures of us. It was a nice weather day cool, not cold. Such fun.

[rsdsharp]

29. McGovern in the Iowa primary. I had turned 18 about a month before.

You could register at the poll, and you had to declare a party to vote in the primary. When they asked me to declare a party, my mother volunteered, “Republican!” The poll worker looked at me, questioningly. I smiled and said, “Democratic.” My mother wailed, “We thought your brother was going to be the radical!”

FYI, my older brother lives in Arizona, is a registered Libertarian, and is to the right of Genghis Khan.

[milestogo]

30. Gerald Ford

I figured he had already been the president, so he knew how to be the president. Later that day I wanted to go back and change my vote, but they don't let you do that.

Carter won anyway.

Edit: Its the only time I've ever voted for a Republican.

[Demovictory9]

31. Carter

[enough]

32. LBJ

[snowybirdie]

34. LBJ

Worked for Kennedy but too young to vote.

[Glorfindel]

35. Lyndon B. Johnson

[Squeaky41]

36. First Prez Vote

Johnson in 1964.

[Archae]

37. Ronald Reagan.

1980, hey, I simply liked him better than Carter at the time.

Haven't voted for a republican since 1984.

[Xavier Breath]

48. Same here, though my vote was in 1984.

I was 18 and so excited to finally get to vote, and my high school happened to be my polling place, so I even got to leave class to vote. Then I voted for Bush in 1988 because it made sense to me for the VP to succeed the president. But I made amends four years later in 1992 when I voted him out, and I have voted for the Democratic candidate ever since.

[fargone]

39. EUGENE MCCARTHY

Wis. Primary

[subterranean]

40. Walter Mondale

[50 Shades Of Blue]

41. George McGovern.

[ClimateHawk]

42. Barack Obama, 2008

First time voting.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

43. I just missed the 1968 Presidential Elections because back then,

you had to be 21 to vote and I was less than a month shy of 21, so I had to wait until 1972, I voted for McGovern and did he take a shellacking from Nixon!!!

Never understood why at 17, I could join the Marines and be sent to Vietnam at 19, but still couldn't vote nor legally drink off base.

[dameatball]

44. Jimmy Carter. Still wondering where the US and the world would be if he had been re-elected and had

Congressional support.

[IcyPeas]

45. Bill Clinton, 1996

I was not an American citizen prior to 1996.

[happybird]

46. Bill Clinton

[Sneederbunk]

47. Pat Paulsen

[nycbos]

49. Obama 2008

I fell one year short of being able to vote in the 2004 election.

[Bayard]

50. I was a kid

I voted for John Anderson as an independent. I felt sorry for him.

[nevergiveup]

51. Barry Goldwater

[Emile]

52. George McGovern

[Ptah]

53. George McGovern

[BigMin28]

54. Jimmy Carter

1980

[drmeow]

55. Mondale nt

[Chainfire]

56. McGovern. There is a lot of us old farts here.

One of the posters, and I won't mention any names, if they were honest would post Lincoln...

[Rhiannon12866]

90. I remember the last time someone here asked this question, one DUer said Eisenhower.

I was looking for his/her response on this thread...

[dweller]

57. McGovern

I’d just turned 18 in 72, my older brother’s 1st vote too


This would have made a great poll

✌🏻

[El Supremo]

58. Stupidest thing I ever did.

I bought the lies about McGovern's war record. Hell, he didn't defend himself! I've voted for the Democrat ever since.

[Chipper Chat]

59. Goldwater in 64

I was a republican. Grew up idolizing Ike.

[northoftheborder]

61. John F. Kennedy

[MaryMagdaline]

63. Jimmy Carter 1980

I’ve never regretted my choice. I was too young to vote for him in 1976.

[MOMFUDSKI]

64. McGovern

and I haven't missed an election EVER for ANYTHING.

[PJMcK]

65. Jimmy Carter in 1976

I turned 18 that year. President Carter has proven over and over that my vote was well cast.

[Trailrider1951]

67. George McGovern, 1972

I was able to vote for him only because the law was changed to allow people 18 years and older to vote. Before 1972, it was 21 years and older. I turned 21 about 3 weeks after that election. And I've voted for every Democrat since.

[yellowdogintexas]

68. Hubert Humphrey. 1968 nt

[Srkdqltr]

69. LBJ. I missed Kennedy voting by a few weeks but I worked the election.

[mysteryowl]

70. umm... I think if I remember right it was Teddy R.

[Wounded Bear]

72. Richard Milhouse Nixon...

Don't change dicks in the middle of a screw, vote for Nixon in '72.

I was a young Marine that had just received a rather large raise in pay. Only time I voted R in the presidential. Have voted for a few selected R's down ballot since then if I thought they were actually doing their jobs, but generally have voted straight D.

[mysteryowl]

73. Teddy was in office 1901

[Wounded Bear]

81. Oops! Mine was supposed to be in the original thread...

[Rastapopoulos]

71. Jimmy Carter in 1980

Proudly. It was one of the saddest nights of my life when he lost.

[Fla Dem]

74. Hubert Humphrey.

[electric_blue68]

75. Proudly for George McGovern of whom back then RFK...

Last edited Thu Feb 17, 2022, 04:43 AM - Edit history (2)

called him the most decent man in the Senate.

When he visited NYC to campaign it was one of the last big rallies on the Garment District.

When I got to the Election Night Hotel ballroom it was soooo sad. There was hardly anyone there.

[jojog]

77. Carter 1976 - also voted for Al Gore Jr in his first term in House.

[3catwoman3]

79. Raised by seriously Republican parents...

…who did not encourage their offspring to think differently than they did, so, unfortunately, I must confess to Nixon.

I later developed the courage of my bleeding heart liberal soul.

My mom saw the light late in life, and although she could not bring herself to identify as a full on Democrat (called herself an independent), she started voting blue with Clinton and adored Barack Obama. She voted for Joe Biden at age 98, but did not live to see him inaugurated - COVID pneumonia.

[Desert grandma]

80. George McGovern in 1972.

Have proudly voted for every Democrat since then.

[jmowreader]

82. Walter Mondale

I was only 17 when Jimmy Carter ran the second time.

[Rhiannon12866]

83. George McGovern.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I certainly knew that Nixon was bad news. And another girl in school sold me a McGovern campaign button for a quarter.

[7wo7rees]

85. My bad. Ford. Just had turned 18.

Listened to hype re unknown "peanut farmer".
Lived in a very conservative enclave, top ten high schools in US and all that noise.

Did not vote again for quite some time. Horror of Iran/Contra got me reinvolved, barely.

Took till 2000 to wake the F up. Too little, too late.

I have always regretted that 1st vote! ALWAYS!!!

Ms.7wo7rees

[CTyankee]

86. I voted (probably illegally) for JFK.

I'm so old it doesn't matter how. Nothing sinister. I wasn't register to vote in NYC, but I falsely claimed the address, which was an apartment leased by my father in law, right after we got married. He used it when he had late night work and couldn't get home to Pound Ridge. He and his son had the same name as Sr. and Jr.

It was no big deal, but I worried about it at the time.

[Sogo]

87. John Anderson, 1980

[Tommy Carcetti]

88. John Kerry.

I could have voted for Gore but I was young and thought if I didn't agree with a candidate 100%, he or she wasn't worth my vote. So I abstained in 2000.

Needless to say, I immediately regretted my decision days later, and I haven't missed an election since.

[Akoto]

89. Barack Obama, proud to say. n/t

[AngryOldDem]

91. John Anderson.

[LuckyCharms]

92. Jimmy Carter. n/t