AARP Exclusive Poll: Trump Leads Biden with Wisconsin Voters Age 50-Plus

Wisconsin is referred to as a swing state that is not solidly blue for Democrats or solidly red for Republicans – it’s more of a mix, says Martha Cranley, AARP’s Wisconsin state director. The state has a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled state legislature.

“We are truly a purple state because no party can or should assume they will carry Wisconsin in any election for any office, including for president and U.S. Senate,” Cranley says.

She expects the margin of victory in the presidential race to be “razor thin.”

When polled on the performance of the two candidates as president, 43 percent of voters 50-plus approve of what Biden is doing in office, while 56 percent disapprove. For Trump, 53 percent of voters 50-plus approve of what he did as president, versus 46 percent who disapprove. 

Older voters typically come out in greater numbers during elections and have more influence over outcomes. Eighty-five percent of voters 50-plus said they were extremely motivated to vote, the AARP poll found, while 76 percent of all voters polled said the same.

AARP (Source: Getty Images)

Older voters will make a difference in determining who wins in Wisconsin, says Jeff Liszt, a partner at Impact Research.

“They're telling us they're going to show up, and we [just] don't know among the younger voters,” whether they will actually vote, Liszt says.

Overall, interest in voting in November is high. Ninety-five percent of Wisconsin voters 50-plus say they will “definitely vote” in the general election for president, U.S. Senate and Congress. That number remains high at 90 percent, when all Wisconsin voters were polled.

Social Security, Medicare among top issues

Issues are often the driving force for these voters. On a list of issues, older voters chose immigration and border security (37 percent); inflation and rising prices (29 percent); and threats to democracy (21 percent) as the top issues impacting their vote in November.

Fifty-six percent of older voters polled said they worried about their personal financial situation.

“Even though the economy has really recovered well and rebounded, people are still not feeling that,” Cranley says. “They're still anxious about it.”

From a list of issues specifically impacting older adults, voters 50-plus ranked Social Security (83 percent) as “extremely or very important” when deciding who to support in November; Medicare (72 percent) as extremely or very important; and policies to help older adults live independently at home as they age (63 percent) as extremely or very important in their voting choices this year.

AARP (Source: Getty Images)

Sixty-four percent of older voters say Social Security is, or is expected to be, a major source of income, the poll found. That number is “much, much higher” than the pollsters have found in other state polls, Liszt says.

Campaigns should be talking about Social Security in ways “the electorate wants to hear: protecting it and making sure you're going to get the benefits that you paid into and not using Social Security to reduce the debt,” Ward says.

Caregiving is also a concern for many older Wisconsin voters. Twenty-four percent of voters 50-plus say they are a family caregiver for an older or ill adult or someone with a disability, the poll found. Of those caregivers, 25 percent are spending 21 hours or more a week on family caregiving.

Cranley said more support for family caregivers is needed, noting that caregiving is the “backbone of Wisconsin’s long-term care system.”