AARP Poll: Race Remains Close in Pivotal Ohio U.S. Senate Contest

Ohio has in the past been a battleground state in presidential elections. Trump won the state in 2020, garnering 53 percent of the vote, compared with 45 percent for President Joe Biden. Whoever prevails in Ohio in November would secure 17 electoral votes toward the 270 needed to win the presidency.  

Pollsters also asked voters their opinions of each candidate. Overall for Trump, 51 percent of voters had a favorable opinion and 46 percent reported an unfavorable opinion; and for Harris those numbers were 41 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable. Among voters 50-plus, 55 percent had a favorable opinion of Trump versus 41 percent unfavorable. In that same 50-plus group, 39 percent had a favorable opinion of Harris versus 57 percent unfavorable.

Notably, Harris’ favorable ratings among all voters were higher, at 41 percent, than for Biden, at 33 percent, Liszt said.

Ohio voters were also asked their opinion of Trump’s vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance, a Republican U.S. senator for Ohio. Among all voters, 46 percent rated him favorably and 41 percent unfavorably and among voters 50-plus, 53 percent had a favorable opinion of Vance versus 38 percent unfavorable. 

Voters 50+ more likely to turn out

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Interest in voting in November is high in Ohio. Eighty-nine percent of voters age 50-plus indicated they were “extremely motivated to vote,” with that number dropping slightly to 83 percent among all voters. 

About half of older voters (51 percent) said they plan to vote in person at the polls on Election Day, while 26 percent said they would vote early and in-person, and 18 percent plan to vote via absentee or mail-in ballot. 

But the mood was pessimistic: When asked about the direction the country is headed, 70 percent of voters age 50-plus said it was headed in the wrong direction, compared with 26 percent who believe it is headed in the right direction. 

“We know older voters are going to turn out, and we know many of them are persuadable — which is why candidates will need to be talking about the issues that matter to older voters,” Liszt said.  

Social Security, Medicare, economy are top concerns for older voters

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Ohio voters over age 50 are the biggest voting bloc in the state and “could tip the scale for any candidate in this election," said Jennifer Carlson, state director of AARP Ohio. But candidates must prioritize their concerns, she said.

Older voters ranked Social Security (80 percent), Medicare (74 percent), policies to help older adults age safely at home (70 percent), the cost of prescription drugs (67 percent), the cost of utilities (66 percent) and the cost of housing (62 percent) as extremely important when deciding who to vote for.

Finances were also on the minds of older Ohio voters: inflation and rising prices and the economy and jobs were among their top concerns. Sixty-two percent of voters 50-plus said they were worried about their personal financial situation and a little more than half said Social Security is a major source of their income or is expected to be. Most older adults surveyed said they’d be more likely to support a candidate who worked to make sure older workers get their Social Security benefits.

Many older adults in Ohio live on fixed incomes, such as Social Security, pensions or retirement savings, and financial resilience is a critical issue for them, Carlson said.  

​Immigration and border security, threats to democracy, and abortion and reproductive rights also ranked high among issues that would help 50-plus voters decide how to cast their ballots.

Caregiving plays an election role

About a third of older adults surveyed said were family caregivers who provide care for an older or ill adult or someone with a disability, and many spend a significant amount of time doing so: 31 percent said they spent 21 hours or more a week on caregiving. Seventy-seven percent of voters 50-plus said they were more likely to back a candidate who would provide support for caregivers.

Older voters were also looking for financial help when it comes to caregiving. Sixty-nine percent said they would support a candidate who would work at the federal level toward providing a tax credit for unpaid family caregivers to help cover costs, and 72 percent said they would be more likely to cast a ballot for a candidate who supported policies to provide paid leave for caregiving to prevent lost jobs or salary.

“To secure a win in November, " Carlson said, "candidates must prioritize the critical concerns of voters over age 50, from protecting Social Security to lowering the cost of prescription drugs and supporting family caregivers.”