Georgia Voters 50+ Focus on Affordability, Social Security and Health Care in 2026

AARP’s Georgia Voter Survey finds voters 50 and older are a highly engaged part of the electorate. Eighty-eight percent of voters 50-plus rate their motivation to vote a 10 out of 10, compared with 62% of voters under 50. A majority of likely voters statewide say they are worried about their personal financial situation.

The survey shows competitive statewide races. In the gubernatorial contest, Keisha Lance Bottoms leads Rick Jackson 48% to 46% among all likely voters, within the margin of error. Among voters age 50-plus, Jackson leads Bottoms 55% to 42%. In the U.S. Senate contest, Senator Jon Ossoff leads Rep. Mike Collins 52% to 43% among all likely voters, while Collins leads among voters age 50-plus by 53% to 45%.

Economic concerns are central to the election. Rising prices and affordability rank as the leading first- or second-choice issue overall. Among voters 50-plus, the top voting issues include rising prices and affordability, immigration and border security, threats to democracy, taxes/government spending/debt, Social Security and Medicare, and health care.

Everyday costs are driving affordability concerns. Among voters 50-plus, the leading concerns about rising prices and affordability are groceries (48%), health care (35%), gasoline (24%), housing (20%), utilities like electricity (19%), and prescription drugs (14%).

AARP priority issues are important to large shares of voters age 50-plus. Social Security is rated extremely or very important by 84% of voters 50-plus, followed by rising prices for everyday essentials like groceries and gasoline (83%), the cost of health care (83%), Medicare (79%), policies to help older adults live independently at home as they age (75%), and the cost of prescription drugs (70%).

The survey also finds strong support for candidates who address issues affecting older voters. Among voters age 50-plus, the leading voting issues are rising prices and affordability (35%), immigration and border security (27%), threats to democracy (27%), Social Security and Medicare (22%), taxes and government spending (22%), and health care (18%). Majorities also say they would be more likely to support candidates who back assistance for unpaid family caregivers, including tax credits, support services and paid leave.

Other findings underscore the importance of retirement security and caregiving for Georgia voters 50-plus. Nearly half (48%) say Social Security is or will be a major source of income for their household, and 53% identify as current or former family caregivers. The survey also finds that 75% of voters 50-plus are concerned that data centers could cause utility prices to rise, while 85% agree that state policymakers should work to ensure residential utility consumers do not bear the costs of serving large data centers. Two-thirds of voters 50-plus support reforming Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program to keep the work requirement while making the reporting process easier.

Methodology

AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (R) and Impact Research (D) to survey voters in Georgia. The firms interviewed 1,060 likely voters statewide from July 13 to 16, 2026. Interviews were conducted by live interviewer on cellphone (40%) and landline (15%), as well as SMS-to-web (45%). The sample was randomly drawn from the Georgia voter list. Due to rounding, answer choices may not always add to 100%. The report specifies whether findings are among the 18-plus or 50-plus universe. For more information, contact Kate Bridges at kbridges@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.