diff --git a/spec/editor-spec.coffee b/spec/editor-spec.coffee
index 3362223c4..4a5b77ce7 100644
--- a/spec/editor-spec.coffee
+++ b/spec/editor-spec.coffee
@@ -2258,6 +2258,15 @@ describe "Editor", ->
           editor.outdentSelectedRows()
           expect(buffer.lineForRow(0)).toBe "var quicksort = function () {"
 
+        it "outdents only up to the first non-space non-tab character", ->
+          editor.insertText(' \tfoo\t ')
+          editor.outdentSelectedRows()
+          expect(buffer.lineForRow(0)).toBe "\tfoo\t var quicksort = function () {"
+          editor.outdentSelectedRows()
+          expect(buffer.lineForRow(0)).toBe "foo\t var quicksort = function () {"
+          editor.outdentSelectedRows()
+          expect(buffer.lineForRow(0)).toBe "foo\t var quicksort = function () {"
+
       describe "when one line is selected", ->
         it "outdents line and retains editor", ->
           editor.setSelectedBufferRange([[1,4], [1,14]])
diff --git a/src/selection.coffee b/src/selection.coffee
index c04fc7231..3092617b4 100644
--- a/src/selection.coffee
+++ b/src/selection.coffee
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ class Selection extends Model
   outdentSelectedRows: ->
     [start, end] = @getBufferRowRange()
     buffer = @editor.buffer
-    leadingTabRegex = new RegExp("^ {1,#{@editor.getTabLength()}}|\t")
+    leadingTabRegex = new RegExp("^( {1,#{@editor.getTabLength()}}|\t)")
     for row in [start..end]
       if matchLength = buffer.lineForRow(row).match(leadingTabRegex)?[0].length
         buffer.delete [[row, 0], [row, matchLength]]