Voters line as much as solid their ballots at a polling place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on November 5, 2024.
Samuel Corum | Afp | Getty Pictures
Requested “Are you higher off in the present day than you have been 4 years in the past?” the reply for a lot of older voters aged 50 and over was no, based on a brand new post-election survey issued by AARP.
Nearly half – 47% – of voters aged 50 and over stated they have been “worse off now”, the survey discovered, whereas greater than half – 55% – of swing voters on this age cohort stated the identical.
In aggressive congressional districts, the president-elect Donald Trump gained 50 or extra votes by 2 proportion factors — the identical margin he did carried the countrydiscovered AARP.
Amongst voters 50 to 64, Trump gained by 7 factors. With voters over the age of 65, Vice President Kamala Harris gained by 2 factors.
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AARP commissioned Fabrizio Ward and Affect Analysis, a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic polling and consulting companies, to conduct the examine. Interviews have been carried out with 2,348 “doubtless voters” in focused congressional districts after Election Day between November 6 and 10.
In response to Bob Ward, a Republican pollster and associate at Fabrizio Ward, older voters, who make up an enormous share of the vote and have a tendency to lean Republican, have made a distinction in lots of key congressional races.
“Usually, voters over 50 are actually what gave the Republican majority,” Ward stated.
Older swing voters centered on pocketbook points
When requested “How nervous are you about your private monetary scenario?” in a June AARP survey62% of voters aged 50 and over checked the fear field, whereas 63% of voters general did the identical.
Voters continued to emphasize their cash considerations on Election Day, the most recent AARP survey discovered.
“All these research we did for AARP talked a couple of lack of financial safety for folks,” stated Jeff Listing, a associate at Affect Analysis.
“The shock of inflation has left them feeling insecure,” he stated.
For voters age 50 and older, meals ranked as the most costly concern at 39 p.c, the survey discovered. This was adopted by healthcare and pharmaceuticals at 20%; housing, 14%; gasoline, 10%; and electrical energy, 6%.
Greater than half — 55 p.c — of voters age 50 and older stated they prioritize private financial points, together with inflation, the economic system and jobs and Social Safety, when casting their vote.
Older voters usually tend to go to the polls due to these pockets considerations than due to different priorities, based on the survey.
Republicans gained over older voters on most private financial points, though voters 50 and older nonetheless favored Democrats on Social Safety by 2 factors.
Democrats have historically held a bigger lead on Social Safety, Ward stated, whereas the ballot outcomes present it’s now “utterly up for grabs.”
“Wanting on the midterms, whether or not I am a Republican or a Democrat … that is going to be a problem that I wish to win,” Ward stated.
Voters 50 and older broadly assist Medicare in negotiating prescription drug costs, in addition to insurance policies to assist the older inhabitants age at residence. Non-financial points comparable to immigration and border safety and threats to democracy have been additionally high considerations for some older voters.
Social Safety reform could also be an even bigger focus
Though each presidential candidates promised to guard Social Safety through the marketing campaign, they supplied no plans to revive this system’s solvency.
The trust fund Social Safety is projected to vanish in 2033, when 79% of those advantages shall be payable.
“What is completely clear is that there’s a set off occasion that we’re approaching and that sooner or later Congress must act,” stated Nancy Altman, president of Social Safety Works, an advocacy group centered on the growth this system.
As Trump touts plans to eradicate Social Safety taxes, research found this could exacerbate this system’s failure. The The House votes this week eradicate guidelines that cut back Social Safety advantages for sure individuals who have pension revenue, which might additionally enhance program prices.
For many People, Social Safety is the first supply of revenue after retirement, based on AARP. About 42% of individuals age 65 and older depend on this system for at the very least 50% of their revenue; about 20% depend on it for at the very least 90% of their revenue.
Like Social Safety, Medicare additionally faces an imminent depletion of the belief fund for the Half A program, which covers hospital insurance coverage.
“We wish to make it possible for we shield Medicare, Social Safety, and that it is executed in a fiscally accountable manner,” AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan instructed CNBC in a current interview.
