New AARP-Politico Florida Poll Shows 50-Plus Voters Focused on Pocketbook Issues Today and In Future

WASHINGTON, DC – In a joint AARP-POLITICO poll released today, Florida voters age 50 and over do not feel better off financially despite a growing economy. The poll also found that Social Security and health care will be very important to 50-plus voters when they cast ballots for Congress in the mid-term elections, and they are deeply concerned about the future of Medicare.

“While Washington is focused on divisive, headline-grabbing issues, the voters who probably will decide the midterm elections are more focused on their own pocketbooks,” said Jeff Johnson, AARP’s Florida state director.  “For candidates and campaign professionals, one finding emerges above all others – these voters are up for grabs. Candidates who can connect with these voters have a big advantage going into the fall elections.”

AARP partnered with POLITICO to create a series titled, “The Deciders,” that integrates original polling focused exclusively on 50-plus voters, data analysis, and cutting-edge data visualization tools built by POLITICO's specialized interactive team. The first edition in the series is focused on Florida, a key battleground state in the election.

The Florida poll findings include:

• Voters 50 years and older say Social Security (82 percent) and Health care (78 percent) will be very important to their vote for Congress this fall; 97 % of 50-plus voters say Social Security is very or somewhat important to their vote.
• More 50-plus voters (38%) worry about health care expenses than any other issue;
• 50+ voters are deeply concerned about future of Medicare with nearly three-quarters of those in Florida (74%) citing Medicare as an important election issue; and
• 50+ voters don’t feel better off despite growing economy with 49% saying their income is falling behind their cost of living;
• And 40 percent of 50+ voters and an identical percentage of registered voters overall expect the next generation to be worse off than people are today. Only 24 percent of each group think people will be better off than they are today.

The POLITICO/AARP poll, conducted by Morning Consult, surveyed 1,199 Florida voters on May 29-30 and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. For the voters 50 and older, the poll surveyed 676 Florida voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points. Crosstabs available upon request.

In addition to the Politico partnership, AARP launched “Be The Difference. Vote™,” a comprehensive voter engagement campaign to support Americans age 50+ as they vote in the 2018 midterm elections. AARP will seek to get the largest possible turnout of 50+ voters in November and ensure issues of particular importance to older voters are front and center—issues like Medicare, Social Security, financial security, prescription drug costs, and family caregiving. Find Florida specific resources and content at aarp.org/vote4FL.

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