Before today, I had voted in three presidential elections. Not only had I never voted for a primary candidate who won the nomination, I had an 0-for-3 record in voting for candidates in the primary who were still in the race at the time of my primary.
How is this possible? In 2000 and 2008, I voted absentee, because I was in college and living outside the country (respectively). When I mailed in my absentee ballots for Bill Bradley and John Edwards (I know, I know, but it was still the right choice based on the information we had at the time), they were still in the race. Bradley dropped out on March 9, 2000, before the Illinois primary (in which I was voting) on March 21. Edwards suspended his campaign on January 30, 2008, before the New York primary on February 5 (Super Tuesday).
In 2004, I actually voted in person (in New York) on primary day (Super Tuesday, March 2). I had been supporting Howard Dean, who dropped out on February 18. There was no question that I would support the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election, but I didn't feel like taking a stance just then on Kerry vs. Edwards, so I decided to vote for Dean anyway (who was still on the ballot), in the hope of sending more Dean delegates to the convention. (Dean in fact won the Vermont primary that day.)
But my unbroken streak might be about to end. (Not coincidentally, this year is the first time since I turned 18 that an incumbent Democratic president is running for reelection.) Today I went to early voting and voted for Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. If Obama doesn't drop out before the Maryland primary on April 3, the streak will be over!
