Thinking about My Own Votes in Presidential Elections

I was thinking this morning about the fact that this will be the 7th presidential election that I have had the privilege of voting in. It will probably surprise no one to learn that I have voted Republican in the general election each time (lest anyone think I only vote along party lines, I will mention that I have twice voted for Democrats for governor: I voted for Bob Casey in Pennsylvania in 1990 and for Phil Bredeson in Tennessee in 2002). However, I have never voted for the eventual Republican nominee in a seriously contested presidential primary, unless one considers the 1992 primary to have been seriously contested. Given that track record, the Republican contenders may wish to campaign against my vote!

Here are my past primary votes:

1984 -- uncontested. The nominee was Ronald Reagan.
1988 -- I voted for Jack Kemp. The nominee was George H.W. Bush
1992 -- I voted for George H.W. Bush, who was challenged for a while by Pat Buchanan. Mr. Bush was the nominee.

1996 -- I voted for Steve Forbes (only because Phil Gramm had dropped out). The nominee was Bob Dole

2000 -- I voted for John McCain. The nominee was George W. Bush.
2004 -- uncontested. The nominee was George W. Bush.

In 2008, I plan to vote for Fred Thompson.