October 1, 2024
Recent polling shows Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump among seniors, a first for a Democrat since 2000.
Recent polls show that Vice President Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump among American voters aged 65 and up.
A CNN/SSRS poll released this week sees Harris leading the former president 50% to 46% among senior citizens. This could be pivotal as the November election approaches, with polls indicating that Harris holds a slight national lead over Trump.
Although Harris appears to be facing challenges with demographic groups that President Joe Biden resonated with during the 2020 election, her advantage among seniors marks the first time a Democratic candidate has held this lead since the 2000 election. Current polls show Harris leading Trump by an average of 3 points among senior voters.
This marks a significant change in the Democratic Party’s appeal to senior voters, especially considering that earlier this year, as well as in the post-election analysis from 2020, Trump held a 4-point lead over Biden among those aged 65 and older. Polling reveals a consistent increase in senior support for the Democratic Party, with Biden significantly outperforming Obama among older voters in 2020 despite achieving similar national results among the general electorate.
Harris’s potential gains with seniors come at a crucial time, as she faces some challenges—uncommon for a Democrat—among younger voters in national polling. The Vice President’s shift from younger to older voters could work in her favor, considering the higher number of senior citizens than adults under 30 in the U.S.
Older Americans have an outsized influence during elections because they are more likely to be registered and actually vote on election day. According to recent polling from The New York Times/Siena College, seniors make up about 29% of the electorate, while voters under 30 account for only about 13%.
The tight polling numbers between Harris and Trump highlight the importance of every single vote. Both candidates are actively working to appeal to seniors, younger voters, men, women, people of color, and anyone eligible to vote in the upcoming November election.
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