The Voting Records of Famous People

[H. Ross Peron]

How do you guess various famous people voted over their life? This being Billy Graham's 96th birthday...

1940: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Registered Democrat in mid-century North Carolina after all)
1944: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1948: Harry Truman
1952: Adlai Stevenson
1956: Dwight Eisenhower (OTOH, Graham became close to Eisenhower and may have felt him to be a better anticommunist, so he may have voted for Ike once or twice)
1960: Richard Nixon (Additionally he opposed the idea of a Catholic becoming President at least until JFK's famous speech vowing to separate religion and politics, not sure if he was persuaded by that or not)
1964: Lyndon Baines Johnson (I don't think Graham was as ultra-conservative as Goldwater and he was quite sympathetic to the civil rights movement especially for a conservative Southern preacher of the time)
1968: Richard Milhous Nixon (Even though Humphrey was a fairly traditional sort of liberal, Graham problem voted Republican through the "law and order" and "Silent Majority" rhetoric of Nixon along with the massive cultural upheaval taking place at the time. Additionally Graham became fairly close with Nixon later on leading to conversations that included accusations of anti-Semitic remarks)
1972: Richard Milhous Nixon (Definitely Nixon in this case, considering the extremely culturally liberal reputation of McGovern)
1976: James Earl Carter Jr. (Graham would almost certainly have voted for his fellow Southern Evangelical Democrat, just like most other Evangelicals at that time)
1980: Ronald Reagan (Probably would have shifted to Reagan with much of his fellow Evangelical community even if he did not openly align himself with the Christian Right)
1984: Ronald Reagan
1988: George HW Bush (From here on out, I suspect Culture War issues would have led Graham to vote Republican)
1992: George HW Bush
1996: Bob Dole
2000: George W Bush
2004: George W Bush
2008: John McCain
2012: Mitt Romney

[AelroseB]

Seems about right, although I believe that Graham endorsed Ford in '76.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Seems about right, although I believe that Graham endorsed Ford in '76.

He didn't publicly endorse Ford, but he had a better relationship with Ford than with Carter.  Also he corresponded with Ike about the presidency before he ran so he almost certainly voted for Ike in 1952.  Aside from FDR, Truman, and LBJ he probably voted Republican in all presidential elections - he certainly wouldn't be the only Democrat from the South to do so.

["'Oeps!' De blunders van Rick Perry Indicted"]

I suspect Graham voted for Clinton at least once -- probably in '96. They were pretty close -- Graham defended him during the Lewinsky scandal, which angered many of his admirers.

[Indy Texas]

TIL Billy Graham is still alive.

[Goldwater]

TIL Billy Graham is still alive.

Yeah, I assumed he was dad too.

[DS0816]

Oscar-winning actress and screen legend Bette Davis (b. 1908; d. 1989) likely voted Democratic in all her life's span of presidential elections. (With no exceptions.) The following is one "reference"…

@ http://www.answers.com/Q/Was_bette_Davis_a_democrat

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[Boston Bread]

Ford won the southern white vote, and presumably white evangelicals by an even bigger margin (though not in Georgia of course). A lot had changed by then.

[TNF]

Frank Sinatra

1936: Franklin Roosevelt*
1940: Franklin Roosevelt*
1944: Franklin Roosevelt
1948: Harry Truman**
1952: Adlai Stevenson*
1956: Adlai Stevenson*
1960: John Kennedy
1964: Lyndon Johnson*
1968: Hubert Humphrey
1972: Richard Nixon
1976: Gerald Ford*
1980: Ronald Reagan
1984: Ronald Reagan*
1988: George Bush*
1992: George Bush*
1996: Bob Dole*

*Speculative
**I was under the impression that Sinatra was a Wallace backer, given his association with a few CP fronts here or there, but Wikipedia seems to imply that he campaigned for Harry Truman.

[H. Ross Peron]

Sinatra might have gone back to the Democrats after Clinton.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Ford won the southern white vote, and presumably white evangelicals by an even bigger margin (though not in Georgia of course). A lot had changed by then.

There was a topic on this a while back.  I'd guess evangelicals, likely for the last time in history, voted more for Carter than other Whites.  Ford's strengths were in the more populated suburbs, Carter did better in the rural areas.  Someone also made a cool map that I'm guessing used "universal swings" or whatever, and they determined that Carter would have had to have won the White vote in Arkansas and a few other states to have won by the margin that he did.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

I thought Ayn Rand's record was interesting..

1932: FDR
1936: Landon
1940: Willkie
1944: Dewey
1948: Dewey
1952: Abstained
1956: Abstained
1960: Nixon
1964: Goldwater
1968: Nixon
1972: Nixon
1976: Ford
1980: Abstained

Wouldn't back the two most popular Republicans during this time, but would back less well-regarded ones. In case anyone was wondering, her vote for FDR was due to Hoover's statist policies.

[AelroseB]

In case anyone was wondering, her vote for FDR was due to Hoover's statist policies.

Ironic.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Obviously, these are all guesses.  Ones I know for a fact are in bold.

Martin Luther King Jr.
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

Frank Sinatra
1936: Roosevelt
1940: Roosevelt
1944: Roosevelt
1948: Truman
1952: Stevenson
1956: Stevenson
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson
1968: Humphrey
1972: Nixon
1976: Ford
1980: Reagan
1984: Reagan
1988: Bush
1992: Bush
1996: Dole

Nat King Cole
1940: Willkie
1944: Dewey
1948: Dewey
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

Elvis Presley
1956: Stevenson
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson
1968: Humphrey (Or maybe Nixon.)
1972: Nixon
1976: Carter

[SPC]

Ron Paul:

1956: Eisenhower (started politics as a straight-ticket Republican)
1960: Nixon
1964: Goldwater
1968: Nixon
1972: Abstain (Nixon's repudiation of the gold standard was his reason for entering politics, and neither Schmitz not Hospers appeared on the Texas ballot.)
1976: primary: Reagan (although he later regretted this endorsement)
          general: Ford or Anderson (MacBride was not on the Texas ballot)
1980: primary: Crane
          general: Reagan
1984: Abstain (He had repudiated Reagan by this time, and Bergland was not on the Texas ballot)
1988: Paul (obviously)
1992: primary: Buchanan
          general: probably Marrou (He was his running mate, after all)
1996: primary: Buchanan
          general: Browne (ostensibly does not recall whether he voted for the Republican ticket in 1996)
2000: Buchanan
2004: Badnarik (Peroutka was not on the Texas ballot)
2008: primary: Paul (obviously)
          general: Baldwin
2012: primary: Paul (obviously)
          general: probably Johnson

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

In case anyone was wondering, her vote for FDR was due to Hoover's statist policies.

Ironic.

Well FDR did run as the more fiscally conservative candidate at the time.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Michael Moore:
1972: McGovern
1976: McCarthy (if he was on the ballot in Michigan)
1980: McReynolds
1984: Mondale
1988: Dukukis
1992: Perot? (over trade policy)
1996: Nader
2000: Nader
2004: Kerry
2008: Obama
2012: Stein

[buritobr]

Michael Moore:
1972: McGovern
1976: McCarthy (if he was on the ballot in Michigan)
1980: McReynolds
1984: Mondale
1988: Dukukis
1992: Perot? (over trade policy)
1996: Nader
2000: Nader
2004: Kerry
2008: Obama
2012: Stein

Do you have a source about these endorsements?

I read that in 2000, Michael Moore endorsed Nader in the states that were safe for Gore and Gore in battleground states. I don't know if he considered Michigan a safe Gore or a battleground state.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Michael Moore:
1972: McGovern
1976: McCarthy (if he was on the ballot in Michigan)
1980: McReynolds
1984: Mondale
1988: Dukukis
1992: Perot? (over trade policy)
1996: Nader
2000: Nader
2004: Kerry
2008: Obama
2012: Stein

Do you have a source about these endorsements?

I read that in 2000, Michael Moore endorsed Nader in the states that were safe for Gore and Gore in battleground states. I don't know if he considered Michigan a safe Gore or a battleground state.

I assumed Nader because he campaigned for him a lot. Michigan was definitely a swing state in 2000 so yeah he probably did vote for Gore. The other votes admittedly were just guesses.

[Oak Hills]

Henry A. Wallace:
1912: Roosevelt/Johnson
1916: Hughes/Fairbanks
1920: Harding/Coolidge
1924: La Follette/Wheeler
1928: Smith/Robinson
1932: Roosevelt/Garner
1936: Roosevelt/Garner
1940: Roosevelt/Wallace
1944: Roosevelt/Truman
1948: Wallace/Taylor
1952: Eisenhower/Nixon
1956: Eisenhower/Nixon
1960: Nixon/Lodge
1964: Johnson/Humphrey

Some of these are difficult to very figure out.  His Wikipedia article claims that until 1936 he was a progressive Republican, but campaigned for Al Smith in 1928.  Based on that, I concluded that he probably backed FDR in 1932 also.  I struggled with 1924, because while his father served in the Harding and Coolidge cabinets, I just don't see Henry A. not voting for La Follette.  As for his later years, he had become a staunch anti-communist by 1952 and is known to have supported Ike in '56 and Nixon in '60, so I concluded he probably supported Ike the first time as well.  As for 1964, I can't imagine that he would've supported Goldwater.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Obviously, these are all guesses.  Ones I know for a fact are in bold.

Martin Luther King Jr.
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

Frank Sinatra
1936: Roosevelt
1940: Roosevelt
1944: Roosevelt
1948: Truman
1952: Stevenson
1956: Stevenson
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson
1968: Humphrey
1972: Nixon
1976: Ford
1980: Reagan
1984: Reagan
1988: Bush
1992: Bush
1996: Dole

Nat King Cole
1940: Willkie
1944: Dewey
1948: Dewey
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

Elvis Presley
1956: Stevenson
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson
1968: Humphrey (Or maybe Nixon.)
1972: Nixon
1976: Carter

I'd have King abstain in 64. Him and LBJ were not on good terms at all.

[Intell]

Obviously, these are all guesses.  Ones I know for a fact are in bold.

Martin Luther King Jr.
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

Frank Sinatra
1936: Roosevelt
1940: Roosevelt
1944: Roosevelt
1948: Truman
1952: Stevenson
1956: Stevenson
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson
1968: Humphrey
1972: Nixon
1976: Ford
1980: Reagan
1984: Reagan
1988: Bush
1992: Bush
1996: Dole

Nat King Cole
1940: Willkie
1944: Dewey
1948: Dewey
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

Elvis Presley
1956: Stevenson
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson
1968: Humphrey (Or maybe Nixon.)
1972: Nixon
1976: Carter

I'd have King abstain in 64. Him and LBJ were not on good terms at all.

What? LBJ and King were extremely friendly, and LBJ was a hard pusher for Civil Rights. I guess I don't understand what you mean...

King would have certainly voted for LBJ, because of his fear of Goldwater.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

What about John Lennon? I'm guessing Labour.

[SPC]

What about John Lennon? I'm guessing Labour.

Based on this, a Conservative vote in 1979 seems plausible, although more likely he did not bother to vote as an expatriate.

[checkers]

Ford definitely won white evangelicals, though by a smaller margin than previous Republicans had. Carter did well with them in the South, but in other areas with large evangelical populations such as Southern California he was much less appealing.

I'm pretty sure Graham would have voted for Ford since they had a close relationship, and he clashed with Carter during the campaign - though I think he was nonetheless pleased to see an evangelical in the White House.

Martin Luther King Jr.
1952: Eisenhower
1956: Eisenhower
1960: Kennedy
1964: Johnson

I thought the Republicans were the party of civil rights???