Every year I write a column about where I was wrong in the previous year. This year I have less fodder, because my colossal errors in 2016 — underestimating President Trump, mostly — gave me a small dose of humility.

So, this year I will look at how I judged Trump. In an important way, I underestimated him, and this misestimation was a big part of the reason I refused to vote for him.

As a Maryland voter, my decision was easy. There was zero doubt that Hillary Clinton would win my state, and so I was never tempted to play the lesser-of-two-evils game at the ballot box.

I saw Trump as a vulgar and dishonest man, unconcerned with checks and balances and unfit for office, and so I had no desire to vote for him. Voting in a deep-blue state I felt perfectly liberated to cast a protest vote.

While I considered writing in someone like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., I opted instead to write in former CIA officer Evan McMullin, who was a registered write-in, meaning votes for him would actually count — making it a more concrete conservative protest.