AARP Poll: Voters 50-Plus Want Candidates Who Support Help for Caregivers 

“This could be this election cycle’s sleeper issue,” says John Anzalone, a veteran Democratic pollster at Impact Research. “Just consider the size of the group who considers themselves caregivers. This is a powerful issue that people don’t really know about.”

Tony Fabrizio, longtime political strategist at Fabrizio Ward, agrees. He says caregivers are a group that up to now has not had a political identity and not been seen as a political force. AARP’s campaign to shine a light on this issue could change that, he says. AARP has been running television ads highlighting the need for older Americans to be able to live independently at home as they age. 

AARP calls on federal and state lawmakers to provide eligible family caregivers financial relief to help cover some of their costs of caring for a loved one, including paid family leave and respite services, as well as expanded services to help seniors remain in their homes as they age.

“When you look at these voters politically, these voters say they are voting Republican,” Fabrizio says, “but if the Democrats can make a case and we do not protect our turf, these voters can make a difference in who is in the majority.”

Social Security and Medicare strong 50-plus concerns

Given a list of 12 hot-button issues, voters 50 and older rate threats to democracy as their top issue (16 percent), followed by Social Security and Medicare (11 percent), immigration and border security (11 percent), the economy and jobs (10 percent) and inflation (10 percent). 

AARP

When asked what issue is most important to them just among AARP’s key concerns, 81 percent of 50-plus voters cite Social Security, 77 percent say Medicare, 70 percent pick policies to help seniors live independently at home as they age and 67 percent list the cost of prescription drugs.

“Candidates and elected officials have a real opportunity to talk to older Americans and their families about their day-to-day challenges and kitchen table budget issues,” LeaMond says.

The survey shows that “issues like Social Security and Medicare, lowering prescription drug prices and caregiving issues are really important to voters, and especially seniors, and that they have an electoral impact,” Anzalone says. “And these are bipartisan issues that if Democrats or Republicans fight for, they will be rewarded.”

Worries about democracy

In recent years, older Americans have consistently told pollsters that they are worried about the divisions in the country. The new AARP survey found that 16 percent of all 50-plus voters are most worried about that issue, with 17 percent of likely voters ages 50 to 64 saying it’s their top issue. Among the 65-plus, threats to democracy tie with Social Security and Medicare as their top concern.

What the poll does not make clear is what specific threats to democracy voters care about. “It could mean different things to different people,” Fabrizio says. “To Democrats, threats to democracy could mean Jan. 6 [the attack Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol], and to Republicans, it could mean their attitudes about election integrity.”

Anzalone says voters could be thinking about former President Donald Trump in selecting threats to democracy as their top issue. “There’s a universe who believes that he is a threat to democracy and a universe that believes that he is the savior of democracy,” Anzalone says.