Polling reveals that control of Congress may depend on seniors voters who have turned on Trump and the Republican Party, and are supporting Democrats in 2018.
CNN reported, “In CNN surveys conducted in early August and early September, registered voters who are 65 years of age and up preferred Democratic congressional candidates to Republicans by margins of 20 and 16 percentage points, respectively. CNN is not the only news organization to report this kind of GOP deficit among seniors. A late August Washington Post–ABC News survey found that if older voters were casting their ballots today, they would back Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives over Republican candidates by a whopping 22-point margin, 57% to 35%. Similarly, a national poll by Marist College conducted in early September found that among voters 60 years of age and up, they favored Democratic congressional candidates by a 15-point margin.”
Why Seniors Are Supporting Democrats
The answer to why comes down to broadly speaking, Trump chaos. Older voters don’t like chaos and instability in the government. It can be said that more experienced people have a better understanding of how damaging chaos can be to a nation. Trump has been nothing, but an unstable ball of chaos and the Democratic argument that it is time to restore order to our country holds a potential powerful appeal to senior voters.
The shift among seniors is also being driven by healthcare. Seniors strongly oppose the haphazard way that Republicans tried to repeal Obamacare. The governing without a plan strategy of McConnell and Ryan has not sat well with seniors, who increasingly view Republicans in Congress as unable to govern and unwilling to check Trump.
As a demographic group, older Americans are the most reliable voters in midterm elections. If those voters show up and vote for Democratic candidates, Democrats will be in a great position to win both the House and the Senate.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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