In 1968 at twenty-two years of age I voted in my first presidential election, the beginning of fifteen presidential elections over the next fifty-six years. I was living in Seattle, Washington, and had been diligent to change my voter registration from my previous address in Houston, Texas, to my new home in Seattle. Politics was always a prominent conversation in my family who preached to me about the difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party from the time I was a young child. In an effort to impress upon me the importance of my vote, my paternal grandfather Pa whom I adored and thought he surely walked on water, had told me before the November election to remember the “Democrats are for the people, and the Republicans are for themselves.” Naturally I voted for the Republican candidates Richard Nixon for President and Spiro Agnew for Vice President.
I made the mistake of telling my dad about my vote, and he was horrified. My entire family considered me a political pariah when Daddy announced my defection at Christmas. As my second presidential election came around in 1972, I began to wish I could take that 1968 vote back, but there it would be forever in infamy – much like the forever infamy of the men I had supported (not counting Elvis).
Therefore, in 1972, I voted for Democratic candidates George McGovern for President and Sargent Shriver for VP. You may not recall these guys because they lost to the incumbents Nixon and Agnew in a red wave that swept the nation. Of course, my dad blamed me for the entire Agnew tax evasion scandal that led to his resignation as VP in 1973 and the Nixon Watergate debacle that led to his exit in 1974. My grandfather couldn’t bring himself to talk about his woe-is-me version of the political landscape at the time. I was off to a shaky start with my voting record.
Here’s the Pop Quiz FUN for Pre-Halloween, Pre-Election Teasers. I will give you the election year and tell you who I voted for. I want you to tell me whether my candidates won or lost? Name their opponents!
1976 I voted for Democratic candidates Jimmy Carter for President and Walter Mondale for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss? Who did they run against?
1980 I voted for Democratic incumbents Jimmy Carter for President and Walter Mondale for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss? Who did they run against?
1984 I voted for Democratic candidates Walter Mondale for President and Geraldine Ferraro for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss? Who did they run against?
1988 I voted for Democratic candidates Michael Dukakis for President and Lloyd Bentsen for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
1992 I voted for Democratic candidates William J. Clinton for President and Albert Gore, Jr. for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
1996 I voted for Democratic incumbents William J. Clinton for President and Albert Gore, Jr. for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
2000 I voted for Democratic candidates Albert Gore, Jr. for President and Joseph Lieberman for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
2004 I voted for Democratic candidate John Kerry for President and John Edwards for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
2008 I voted for Democratic candidate Barack Obama for President and Joe Biden for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
2012 I voted for Democratic incumbents Barack Obama for President and Joe Biden for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
2016 I voted for Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton for President and Tim Kaine for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
2020 I voted for Democratic candidates Joe Biden for President and Kamala Harris for VP. Was that a Win or a Loss for me? Who did they run against?
Today I voted for Democratic candidates Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for VP. A former Republican President (spoiler alert) was running against them for President with Senator JD Vance the Veep on the Republican ticket. Stay tuned for the results which will be determined in the next few weeks.
My feelings about the 2024 election results are currently 50-50 and are not skewed by polls, pundits, predictors, or pandemonium. If you kept score of my record, you will see that I have seven wins and seven losses. When I tallied my historical voting record, I was struck by the irony of having a tie for wins and losses over 56 years. What are the odds? I’d guess 50-50.
I’m interested in your historical voting scores?
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/1972
This link can answer any burning questions you may have about the answers.
But more importantly, make a plan to VOTE.
I'll Call It Like I See It 
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