How Older Voters Powered Trump's Election Engine

While votes are still being counted in this year’s election, early data suggests older voters have continued that pattern. In nine states that report early-vote turnout by age, 41- to 65-year-olds and those over 65 voted early at a higher rate than younger age groups, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, which examines voting demographics.

That tracks with AARP preelection polling, which showed that in battleground states, older voters were more motivated than voters of all ages to cast a ballot.

But older voters are not a monolith. In fact, voters ages 50 to 64 tended to lean more to the right than voters 65 and older, according to 2024 exit polling. That’s a function of the times, Ward says. People 65 and older are closer to the Woodstock generation, which came of age fighting for civil rights, women’s rights, and against the Vietnam War. Those values still shape their political views, he says.

Gender played a role in the outcome of the election too. Trump won older men by 14 percentage points, while Harris won older women by 4 percentage points, according to AP VoteCast. Those numbers reveal “a significant gender gap,” says Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer.

Older voters had a pivotal impact in battleground states where the national election was decided.

For example, in Pennsylvania, Trump won with 54 percent of the vote among 50- to 64-year-olds, compared to 45 percent for Harris. He also garnered 52 percent of the vote to Harris’ 47 percent among voters 65 and older.

“Pennsylvania is an older state,” says Christopher Borick, a political science professor and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “Trump carried seniors. That, in a state like Pennsylvania, is incredibly impactful.”

Even though voters under 50 favored Harris, “that’s hard to overcome in this state,” Borick says.

It’s the economy

Pocketbook issues were of prime concern among older voters and a significant driver of Trump’s support, LeaMond says. Older voters worried about everything from inflation to their ability to pay for retirement, AARP polls found.

“Older voters are the nation’s most reliable voters, and this year was no different,” LeaMond says. “The key factor for older voters, male and female, was the economy.”

Those concerns were prevalent in swing states. In preelection polling, AARP found that 62 percent of North Carolina voters 50-plus were worried about their personal financial situation. In Michigan, 24 percent of older voters cited the economy and jobs, and another 24 percent cited inflation, as top concerns. In Georgia, more than half of those polled said Social Security is or would become a major source of income for the household.

“There’s just a lot of economic anxiety out there,” Ward says.

In Pennsylvania, similar worries may have tipped the scales in favor of Trump.

“Seniors, like other voters, are driven by their biggest concerns — economic matters and inflation,” Borick says. “The impact of inflation in individuals with constrained incomes is very impactful.”