New AARP North Carolina Poll: Older Voters Could Be Decisive in U.S. Senate Race

WASHINGTON – Today, AARP released new bipartisan polling highlighting the outsized role older voters are poised to play in North Carolina's closely-watched Senate race this November. Older North Carolinians remain highly motivated to vote and are focused on a range of affordability concerns -- including national issues like Social Security and Medicare and local conversations around data center utility costs and the affordable housing shortage, according to the survey.

"Older voters are highly engaged, motivated to vote, and likely to determine close midterm races,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer. "Candidates looking to gain an edge must speak to their everyday concerns, including whether Social Security will be there for them and if they’ll be able to keep up with rising prices for everyday essentials like groceries, gasoline and health care.”

Voters 66+ alone accounted for 35% of all voters in North Carolina's 2026 primary election – and new polling suggests this rate of involvement is likely to continue: 83% of voters 50+ rated themselves a "10" on a 10-point motivation-to-vote scale, compared with 66% of voters under 50. Swing 50+ voters -- those not voting a straight ticket for both the U.S. Senate and generic House races -- make up 6% of North Carolina’s electorate, underscoring this bloc’s importance for candidates looking to gain an advantage.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Democrat Roy Cooper has an 11-point edge over Republican Michael Whatley with all voters (53%-42%), while Whatley leads among voters 50+ by 6-points (51%-45%). Cooper wins both women and men, though women by a larger margin. Women 50+ are competitive, with Cooper up by 3-points, while men 50+ back Whatley by 16-points

"Both candidates would be wise to speak clearly and directly to the issues older voters care about,” said AARP North Carolina State Director Michael Olender. “North Carolinians 50 and older are concerned about national issues like Social Security and Medicare, but are also focused on local conversations like ensuring data centers don’t raise utility costs and addressing the affordable housing shortage. Older North Carolinians want to know they will be able to age with financial security and independence and are looking for candidates who can answer that plainly.”  

AARP’s polling found that affordability is the top issue for North Carolina voters 50+, followed by threats to democracy, then Social Security and Medicare.

Among voters age 50+:

• 83% say Social Security is an important issue when deciding their vote, and 93% are more likely to support a candidate who will make sure workers receive the Social Security benefits they earned.

• 77% say Medicare is an important voting issue, and 84% are more likely to support a candidate who would expand Medicare's ability to negotiate prescription drug prices.

•  74% support requiring local communities to permit more accessory dwelling units (ADUs), a proposal aimed at helping address North Carolina’s affordable housing shortage.

• 80% believe that state policy makers should work to ensure that the utility costs for serving new data centers should not be passed on to residential consumers.