As questions regarding President Joe Biden's age and competency loom large throughout his reelection bid, growing literature shows shifting support from young people away from the incumbent. But with this group potentially moving away from the Democratic party, the Biden campaign seems to have found alliance in another demographic— the elderly.
Different studies during the 2024 campaign cycle predict a potential rightward move, not only from young people, but also several minority groups, particularly Latinos and Black people. But simultaneously, voters 65 years old and up seem to largely support Biden, the oldest U.S. president to date, Noticias Telemundo reports.
An April NBC News poll revealed the Democrat saw a 50 point advantage with those that read traditional media, but lagged 26 points behind in those that did not consume political news. Older voters are more likely to consume news from traditional media, like newspapers and broadcasts, while younger people tend to be more disconnected and get their information from social media.
That same poll found Biden and former President Donald Trump essentially tied among voters 18 to 29 in a head-to-head matchup, but the incumbent also had a narrow lead among voters 65 and older.
The study also showed that Biden tends to resonate with those that lived in the decades immediately following WWII and the Cold War. In fact, Biden's advisers have said his democracy speech last week in France intentionally echoed Ronald Reagan's remarks 40 years ago, something that would resonate with the Republican politician's former supporters.
Policy-wise, elder voters tend to support Biden's policies regarding healthcare, such as placing a cap on the price of certain prescriptions, a benefit that elderly enjoy more than younger voters, john Della Volpe, Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, told Noticias Telemundo.
"On the other hand, even though I think he has done even more than people might have expected among younger people's priorities— climate, gun violence, student loan debt— few have been able to see the tangible benefit of it," added Della Volpe.
In an effort to continue the momentum among elder groups, the Biden campaign recently launched the Seniors for Biden-Harris campaign, a national organizing initiative to leverage what it sees as key advantages among those voters, NBC News reports.
Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will help launch the effort with an event on Friday in New Hampshire, the battleground state with the highest percentage of residents 65 and older.
Similarly, First lady Jill biden will also bolster the outreach with battleground state events in the weeks ahead, along with other surrogates who will fan out for events that include postcard writing, phone banks and even pickleball tournaments, a campaign spokesperson told NBC News.
The Biden campaign also seeks to maintain their narrow lead by contrasting Biden's proposals for seniors with Trump's policies.
In his State of the Union address, and most campaign events since then, Biden has criticized Republicans over proposals to scale back retirement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. But the Trump campaign has responded that it is Democrats who are putting these programs at risk because of lax immigration policies.
Biden has said expanding the so-called care economy would be a focus of his second term, promising to make a new push for parts of his so-called Build Back Better agenda that failed to pass Congress in his first term.
"The stakes in this election couldn't be higher for seniors: a second Trump presidency promises to all but reverse the progress we've made and instead increase everyday costs for seniors so Trump can appease his billionaire friends," said Mia Ehrenberg, a Biden campaign spokesperson. "Seniors are a critical part of the Biden-Harris winning coalition this November, and the campaign is working every day to show up and earn their support."
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
