New AARP Iowa Issue Survey: Members Still Want to Hear More from Republican and Democratic Candidates on the Divided We Fail Issues of Health Care and Financial Security

Source: AARP Press Center | December 10, 2007

Des Moines, Iowa - With only three weeks until Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, Iowa AARP members of both political parties say they are following the campaign closely, they are not yet settled on their candidate preferences, and the issues of health and financial security will weigh on their caucus decisions.

Today, AARP released the final in a series of Divided We Fail issues surveys taken since mid-summer measuring the opinions of self-identified Iowa AARP caucus-goers likely to attend a Democratic or Republican caucus on Jan. 3. The surveys were designed to determine how well members believe the candidates are discussing the issues of health and financial security.

The release comes before the Dec. 12 Republican and Dec. 13 Democratic Presidential Debates hosted this week by the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television. AARP is providing underwriting support for the debates on behalf of Divided We Fail, a comprehensive grassroots initiative of consumers, businesses and labor calling for action and answers on health and financial security issues.

“Today’s survey further illustrates that the race for each party’s Presidential nomination remains fluid, and that our members want to hear more from the candidates on the Divided We Fail issues of health and financial security,” said AARP Iowa State Director Bruce Koeppl. “Each week we get closer to Jan. 3, there’s no question these pocketbook issues are on the minds of Iowa caucus-goers in both parties because they’re dealing with the challenges of health and financial security on a daily basis.”

Telephone interviews were conducted Nov. 26-Dec. 3 with 501 Iowa AARP members expected to attend a Republican caucus and 506 Iowa AARP members expected to participate in a Democratic caucus. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization. The full survey report is available at www.dividedwefail.org.

Survey results indicate AARP members are not yet settled in their candidate preferences. Among potential Democratic participants, a majority (58 percent) say they’re at least somewhat likely to change their choice as they learn more about the issues between now and the caucus (41 percent “somewhat likely” and 17 percent “very likely”). The figure is higher among Republicans, where three-quarters (74 percent) are at least somewhat likely to change their preference (48 percent “somewhat likely” and 26 percent “very likely”).

Results show more than nine in 10 say issues related to financial security such as Social Security, incentives for savings and investment, and pension protection will be important in making their 2008 voting decision. More than eight in 10 say health care will be important to those decisions. This is echoed in responses to a question about the most important issue facing the country in which health care and the economy/jobs are among the top three domestic issues for respondents from both parties.

Among likely participants in the Democratic caucus, health care (24 percent) is cited second, followed by the financial security issues of economy/jobs (6 percent). Among likely Republican caucus participants, immigration (16 percent) is now tied with Iraq, followed by economy/jobs (10 percent) and health care (9 percent). Financial security issues nearly doubled in importance with Republicans from the mid-summer survey (6 percent in August), while health care fell four percentage points (13 percent in August).

The survey also asked AARP members their opinion on how well the candidates are addressing the Divided We Fail issues of health and financial security. Member responses show that only five candidates are rated as addressing financial security at least somewhat well by 50% or more, and six are rated as addressing health care very or somewhat well by half or more.

When asked to name which candidate do you feel has best addressed financial security issues, at least five percent of Republican respondents named Gov. Mitt Romney (15 percent) and Gov. Mike Huckabee (7 percent). On the Democratic side, candidates named by at least five percent of Democratic respondents are Sen. John Edwards (14 percent), Sen. Hillary Clinton (14 percent) and Sen. Barrack Obama (10 percent). A majority in both parties say they still do not know enough about the candidates' positions to make a judgment - 61 percent of Republicans and 52 percent of Democrats.

When asked to name which candidate do you feel has best addressed health care issues, five percent or more of respondents from their respective parties named Romney (15 percent) and Huckabee (9 percent), and Clinton (27 percent), Edwards (22 percent) and Obama (8 percent). A majority of Republicans (58 percent) and a plurality of Democrats (31 percent) say they do not know enough about their party's candidates' position to say.

AARP and Divided We Fail are helping bridge members’ need for information with publication of new “In Their Own Words,” 20-page pamphlet that contain candidates’ quotes about their positions on the issues. Prior to publication, each candidate was asked to review their statements to ensure their accuracy. Beginning Dec., 10, AARP is mailing publications to more than 45,000 AARP Iowa members, self- identified as likely caucus-goers. The candidate quotes on health care are also included in the December issue of the AARP Bulletin, which is mailed to all 390,000 Iowa members and more than 23 million AARP households across the country. The information is also posted on line at www.aarpbulletin.org.

Divided We Fail is also in the second week of a two-week, statewide bus tour throughout Iowa distributing the booklets and attending candidate events. Stops the week of Dec. 10 include Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Spencer, Mason City and Des Moines.

As the first statewide, grassroots campaign of the national Divided We Fail project, Iowa-based organizations representing business, industry, education, labor and advocacy have teamed to help Iowans leverage their unique political status with the first-in-the-nation caucuses. The growing team of Iowa members include: AARP, former Governor Terry Branstad, Communications Workers of America Local 7102, DeWaay Capital Management, Des Moines University, Easter Seals, Iowa Assn. of Homes & Services for the Aging, Iowa Caregivers Assn., Iowa Credit Union League, Iowa Health Care Assn., Long-Term Care Guild of Des Moines, Marsh, Quad Cities Progressive Action for the Common Good, Qwest Communications, SEIU Iowa, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce and Wells’ Dairy Inc.