Pollsters say Arizona politicians should pay attention to voters over 50 years old
Download mp3 (7.61 MB)Political candidates might want to pay closer attention to voters 50-plus this election season. That’s because this group will be the decision makers, according to a new poll that was commissioned by AARP.
Older Arizonans will have a big say in the upcoming election. That’s because they’re motivated, and you might — or might not be — surprised at what issues will get them to the polls. AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team to survey more than 1,300 likely Arizona voters.
Pollster Bob Ward of Fabrizio Ward spoke about what matters most to Republicans: inflation or the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Overall, inflation by an 18-point margin is the more important issue,” Ward said. “Not so among Democrats 50-plus. You can see 81% of them pick the Supreme Court decision in Roe. Among independents, there’s a mix, but there’s definitely more concern over inflation.”
Ward says from what they’ve seen in this survey, abortion voters are perhaps the most motivated to vote — and that could matter in a tight race.
“So we have this as an incredibly competitive race — a one point difference with Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in the lead by a point over Kari Lake.”
Ward also says there’s a gender gap: Women prefer Hobbs, while men prefer Lake. When it comes to the issues, he says a few top the list.
“Social Security, Medicare, retirement savings, cost of prescription drugs and long-term care for seniors. In each of these cases, two-thirds or more of voters say these issues are very important to them.”
Ward says a big surprise was how voters view Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, saying she is underwater among Democrats, Republicans and independents.
