# Who Was Your First Presidential Candidate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 1, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589 "2016-03-01T02:03:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/41 "2016-03-01T19:36:20Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > McGovern. 1972. Campaigned on campus for him. Well, “campaign” might be a little too strong of a word. I handed out leaflets and had a sign in my dorm room. I was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in 1972, and I ran around base driving a car with three bumper stickers: VOTE (with a peace sign in place of the O) MCGOVERN (with a peace sign in place of the O) PEACE I got quite a few looks at the air force base. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/42 "2016-03-01T19:45:29Z")
John Kerry I’m a registered independent, but I would say I’m more social progressive, but fiscally conservative. I tend to lean to the right and I won’t be voting Democrat in this election, I liked Geore H W Bush, but I recognized how horrible his son was for the country. ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/43 "2016-03-01T22:35:58Z")
H. Ross Perot in 1992, though if you include primaries it would be George H.W. Bush. In every election since then I voted for the eventual Republican nominee in the primaries and the Republican in the general election. I voted for Rubio this morning, but if Trump gets the nomination I would vote for Hillary in the general election as the lesser of two evils, unless possibly there is a 3rd party candidate I could vote for without having to worry about contributing to giving Trump the presidency. Not sure what I would do if it came down to Trump or Sanders, though that is looking increasingly unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/44 "2016-03-01T22:49:21Z")
1968, Humphrey. Anyone but Nixon. I was 19 in 1964, but at that time 21 was the minimum voting age. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/45 "2016-03-01T23:11:04Z")
Carter '76 and damn proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/46 "2016-03-01T23:39:47Z")
1. Bill Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/47 "2016-03-02T00:06:20Z")
1992-Ross Perot. I didn’t actually cast my first GOP vote for President until 2008, although I supported the party downticket 80% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![desertmonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@desertmonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desertmonk)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/48 "2016-03-02T01:28:07Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Mondale. > > I missed being able to vote in the 1980 election by a couple of months, but had I cast a ballot, it would have been for Carter. With one exception, I have always voted Democratic in presidential elections. I voted for Nader in 2000. :smack: My first election was 2000 and I voted for Nader too but I’m proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/49 "2016-03-02T02:59:51Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > 1968, Humphrey. Anyone but Nixon. “Anything but Nixon, man. A blender. Anything.” – “Profiles in Chrome,” National Lampoon Radio Dinner, 1972 (comedy recording. Anyone remember those?) The joke is, the Democrats decided to run a Pontiac GTO for president. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/50 "2016-03-02T03:58:40Z")
McGovern, 1972. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/51 "2016-03-02T04:07:16Z")
1. Obama, natch. But of course, the first election I voted in would have been the 2006 midterm. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/52 "2016-03-02T04:46:02Z")
Seems like I just gave this same answer a minute ago. I was born in 1961. The first election I got to vote in was 1979, but New York didn’t have any really important offices on the ballot that year. I voted for Reagan in 1980. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/53 "2016-03-02T10:21:27Z")
I was old enough in 96 but was still a clueless enough teenager that I wasn’t even aware the election was going on that night. Then voted Gore in 2000 and have picked the looser every time since. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/54 "2016-03-02T17:17:47Z")
1984 - Punched the hole next to Mondale’s name, but I was voting against Reagan, not for Mondale. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/55 "2016-03-02T18:50:44Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > I was old enough in 96 but was still a clueless enough teenager that I wasn’t even aware the election was going on that night. Then voted Gore in 2000 and have picked the looser every time since. You’ve picked the looser but missed out on the chance to vote for Clinton? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/56 "2016-03-02T18:59:19Z")
1988- Bush ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/57 "2016-03-02T19:02:05Z")
Palin/Voldemort 2020! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/58 "2016-03-02T19:09:43Z")
1984, Walter Mondale. However, I voted for Gary Hart in the state caucus and was a Hart delegate at the state Democratic convention. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/59 "2016-03-02T20:34:29Z")
My birth date was just right. I was some months short of 18 in 1972 and didn’t get to vote in a presidential election until I turned 21 before the 1976 election. Stupid 26th amendment. I don’t really remember for whom I voted. I was just a kid. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589/60 "2016-03-02T20:39:18Z")
Scoop Jackson. Got a call from Big Daddy Unruh, who talked to me for a minute then said “Hold for Senator Jackson” who then asked me to be a delegate nominee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-your-first-presidential-candidate/747589.md?page=2)