With President Joe Biden facing a tough re-election fight against former President Donald Trump next November, the incumbent Democrat will need to increase his current level of support to ensure his re-election.
The president’s re-election challenge is even more daunting given that his overall approval rating for his position is well below 50%, with the incumbent president underperforming with critical groups that fueled his 2020 victory, including young voters, black voters and Latino voters.
But while Biden works to consolidate his support among these key groups, he maintains a notable advantage among seniors — or voters aged 65 and older.
It’s an advantage Trump enjoyed in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center, when the then-president won the seniors by a 4-point margin (52% to 48%) even though he lost the elections against Biden.
In the latest Wall Street Journal survey of key battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), Biden is behind Trump in six of seven states.
However, in the Journal’s latest national and swing state poll, support for Biden among seniors stands at about 48%, a rare bloc of stability for the president.
Biden, who will be 82 at the start of his second term, may be in a better position with seniors than Trump given the importance he places on issues such as reducing the price of insulin and prescription drugs. prescription.
And while Biden’s age has raised concerns among many voters, it has not contributed to a deterioration in support among seniors.
Here’s how Biden’s relatively strong standing with seniors could help him secure a second term:
Older voters turn out at the polls
The Wall Street Journal reported that voters aged 65 and older make up about 28% of the electorate.
In the 2020 election, voters in this group made up about 22% of all voters, according to an exit poll conducted by Edison Research.
And they are among the most consistent voters in primary elections, the results of which typically determine the ideological direction of the major political parties.
But it’s their high-propensity voting habits that could provide an underappreciated advantage for Biden in November.
Strong support among older voters could strengthen Biden in a key state like North Carolina. Walter Bibikow/Getty Images
In the 2020 presidential election, 74% of voters ages 65 and older cast ballots, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
If Biden can build on his current support among seniors, it could be very helpful for him in Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, all of which have significant shares of older voters and retirees and are on the point of being decided by razor-thin margins. this autumn.
War between Israel and Hamas does not harm Biden with seniors
Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas is one of the most pressing issues among young voters – with many Americans aged 18 to 29 demanding the president change course on Gaza by calling for a ceasefire. permanent fire.
It’s an issue that has hurt Biden’s standing with young voters, who supported him by 24 points (59% to 35%) in 2020, according to Pew Research, but who support him by narrower margins in a recent survey.
He remains under immense pressure from antiwar groups and liberal politicians who are pressuring him on the issue and have called on Democratic primary voters to choose “uncommitted” in protest.
But in a February Pew poll, 30% of voters aged 65 and older thought Biden “strike the right balance” in the war, while 23% of respondents thought he favored the Palestinians too much, and 13% of respondents thought he favored the Palestinians too much. of respondents felt he favored the Palestinians too much. favored the Israelis too much. (About a third of voters aged 65 and older were unsure of their opinion.)
A greater share of older adults believed Biden had a more balanced approach to war than any other age group. For example, only 12% of respondents aged 18 to 29 believe Biden struck the “right balance” on the issue. (Nearly four in ten young voters said Biden’s war policies were too biased toward Israel, a higher percentage than any other age group.)
This is not to say that older people are a monolith: there are certainly many older Americans who are calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
But the long-standing geopolitical alliance between the United States and Israel is likely to be a more defining attribute for older voters, with them perhaps giving Biden more deference on the issue given his experience in foreign policy that spans several decades.
businessinsider
