I’m sure that there have been several former presidents who voted for a presidential candidate of another party at some point prior to their death. I mean, Hoover was a liberal and lived until 1961; what are the odds that he voted for Landon *and* Wilkie *and* Dewey twice *and* Ike twice *and* Nixon? And did Ike vote for Goldwater?
And, of course, Van Buren did not vote for Democrat nominee Lewis Cass in 1848, when Van Buren ran for president as the candidate of the Free Soil Party.
Hoover voting for they guy that lied in his victorious campaign against him would have been something.
Did Ike vote for Goldwater? I’d guess probably not.
JBJ not vote for McGovern? Perhaps.
TR of course like Van Buren ran himself on third party ticket.
There’s Tyler but I don’t consider him ever having really been a Whig.
So as far as I know HW is the first ex-Prez to *publicly acknowledge* he voted for the other *major* parties Presidential nominee. And for Shillery Clitnon of all people, what a disgrace.
W says he (W) left it blank, he likely doesn’t want to poison the well for his nephew George P.
Hoover lived to 1964, dying exactly 2 weeks before the Goldwater fiasco. I would say there’s an excellent chance he voted straight Republican all the way to his death. Remember that the Democrats had so vilified him and run on his name in opposition that it is unimaginable he’d have ever voted for one from 1936 to 1960 (plus, they were all establishment guys for the period).
I would presume Eisenhower did vote for Goldwater, despite preferring an establishment choice. He did do a commercial for his campaign, so if he was that disinclined, he probably would not have.