Poll: Financial security, health care important to decisive 50-plus voters

WASHINGTON, DC – In a newly released AARP-Politico poll, 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.

   “Candidates who ignore the issues that matter to voters age 50 and up do so at their own peril,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer. “Older voters were decisive in the last two elections, and they will likely be decisive this year as well.  AARP is making sure that older voters are energized to go to the polls and know where candidates stand on the issues they care about.”

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 election battleground state.

  The Florida poll findings include:

·         Older Florida voters don’t feel better off despite the growing economy with 49% saying their income is falling behind their cost of living;

·         Significant majorities of Florida voters age 50 and older say Social Security (82 percent) and health care (78 percent) will be very important to their vote for Congress this fall;

·         More than one-third of 50+ Florida voters (38%) worry about health care expenses more than any other issue; and

·         Nearly three-quarters cite the future of Medicare as an important election issue.

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.