Older adults represent a large and increasingly larger voting bloc. They will play a big role in the 2020 presidential election. In 2016, they voted for President Trump. But, the Wall Street Journal reports that the jury’s out on whether they will do so again in 2020.
In 2016, older adults supported President Trump by a 52 percent-45 percent margin. Today, according to a June Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 48 percent of older adults favor a Democrat, any Democrat over Trump; 41 percent of them support Trump. Still, 46 percent of older adults say they approve of Trump’s performance.
Only one in three younger voters between 18 and 34 support Trump. But, to win, the Democratic candidate will need substantial support from people over 65, who represent nearly 25 percent of voters. Older adults are also most likely to actually go to the polls. Two out of three older adults cast ballots in 2018.
A July Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that older adults prefer Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump. Support for Biden was 55 percent to Trump’s 43 percent. Support for Sanders and Warren beats out support for Trump by seven and eight percentage points respectively.
Some older adults like Sanders because he stands for working-class people. But, others are wary of supporting a Democrat because of Democrats’ position on immigration. Older adults also do not like socialists, a label the Republicans have unfairly pinned on some of the Democratic candidates.
Shockingly, it appears that older adults are not focused on the fact that President Trump’s budget would slash Medicare, driving up health care costs for older adults. They also do not seem to care that Trump has done nothing to address high prescription drug costs. Moreover, Trump, like Republicans in Congress, is opposed to strengthening Social Security and has been closing Social Security offices.
The last time older adults supported a Democratic presidential candidate over a Republican was in 2000, when they supported Al Gore.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Trump abandons plan to lower drug prices for people with Medicare
- Trump budget proposal slashes Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security
- With Medicare for All, Bernie Sanders moved the Democratic Party left
- How to get free or low-cost dental care
- Four things to think about when choosing between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans
72 yr old boomer who did mot vote for trump.Will vote dem again.
Open borders will bankrupt Medicare and seniors will get hit the hardest. Seniors have earned their Medicare and will support Trump in 2020.
Really? My earned Medicare and Social Security is on the chopping block, as we speak. You apparently are one of the fortunate who can pay the ever rising out-of-pocket expenses that will come with age to include prescriptions, home health care, quality nursing home care, family and so forth, in addition to family care, as well as the good fortune to having saved enough to supplement your Social Security and home paid off so that you are able to maintain your old lifestyle. That’s if the Trump administration doesn’t cut your Medicare and Social Security. God bless you. I wasn’t quite that lucky. Many of us have to work part time to supplement our income/health care out-of-pocket costs. And yes, we were hard workers back in the day.
I hope he’s elected out. Didn’t vote for him the first time. Damn sure I won’t this time. I know a narcissist when I see/hear one and we don’t need a fascist style government. I strongly believe that social programs decreases crime overall, educates and puts people to work, increases tax revenue, and, in general, strengthens our country and economy overall. This is not Russian, Cuban, Venezuelan, Korean, Chinese, etc. Socialism. Greed and power hunger at all levels are destructive forces. They will eventually reduce one’s humanity and eventually erode this once great, but imperfect, country to that of a third world country.
…agreed.
In my 60s and I didn’t vote for him either. For years I knew him as being a greedy, uncouth, and corrupt cheat who often used others and looked to stiff others anyway he could for his personal gain. He not only has his own businesses fall into bankruptcy, but also those which contracted on his projects. The only thing that mattered to him most of his life was “Trump”. Crikey, I remember him in a phone interview shortly after the WTC towers collapsed boasting that he now had the tallest building in South
Manhattan. Never mind the 3,000+ who perished in the disaster.
In 2015/16 I supported Mr. Sanders. He poke twice in my hometown, both times to over capacity audiences. Though he didn’t get the nomination he still maintained a double digit lead over Mr. Trump all the way up to the general election. Whil Mrs. Clinton was not my favourite choice by a long shot, she was still far better than the alternative which we ended up with due to the fluke of how the Electoral College makes its decision (as many know Mrs. Clinton won by around three million ballots in the popular vote which has ignited a campaign to eliminate the EC).
At this juncture I am back behind Mr. Sanders again, as he still makes the most common sense of anyone of the Dem candidates. What has happened is that the pendulum over the years has shifted right to where “centrists” such as Mr. Biden are actually right of centre and those to the right are radically more so as we have been seeing. Candidates like Mr. Sanders and Mrs. Warren are what the centre-left used to be, but are now branded as “far left” by the opposing party, a portion of the media and even their own party.
Mr. Trump and his cesspool administration has to go as well as certain members in the house and Senate like Mr. McConnell and Mr. Graham who have acted as Mr. Trump’s enablers. A Sanders-Warren or Warren-Sanders ticket would be ideal. Sources are pointing to another recession looming that is fuelled by much of what Mr. Trump has done, particularly moving a massive amount of wealth upwards where it remained and initiating his trade wars. In fact some of the key signs today are similar to those of ninety years ago, low relatively stagnant wages, family owned farms failing (aggravated by the trade war with China), and a record amount of personal debt. Wall Street is a poor indicator of real economic health as just before the crash of 1929 it was hitting record levels as it has been recently. The “true” foundation of the economy is this nation’s working citizens who have been largely shafted by this and previous administrations. It is not the wealthy, not the corporate sector as Mr. Trump, his administration and republicans in Congress think. “Trickle down” is the new “big lie”.
Hey Steve, I feel really sorry for you, since you are obviously delusional. Trump and the Republicans are the ones coming for your Medicare. Quit watching the Fox propaganda channel and have an original thought for gods sake. No one wants open borders except rich Republicans. To have them work for nothing in there orchards, hotels and restaurants, factory farms, Oh! and lets not forget Golf courses, that’s probably not covered on the State TV you watch. Keep on the Meds! You are obviously seriously slipping into the “bubble” /echo chamber. Do yourself a favor and read a newspaper…..it’s not fake news , really.