Biden Is Outperforming Trump With Seniors — And Past Democratic Candidates Obama, Clinton

Topline

Polls show Joe Biden is beating President Trump with seniors and outperforming past Democratic candidates — including Hillary Clinton in 2016, and former President Obama in 2012 and 2008  — an encouraging sign for Democrats given that battleground states are disproportionately older than the country at large. 

Key Facts

Big Number

25%. That’s the percentage of the vote seniors make up in the battleground states of Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, compared with 21% elsewhere, according to the Cook Political Report. 

Surprising Fact 

The last Democratic presidential candidate to win seniors was former Vice President Al Gore in 2000, who narrowly beat George W. Bush among older voters. 

Key Background

It’s not clear what’s driving Biden’s support among seniors. Trump has made a pointed attempt to blast Biden’s mental acuity, and recently raised a baseless, wild accusation that Biden had used performance-enhancing drugs to help him get through primary debates, a line of attack that could offend older voters. Seniors have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic this year, an issue that has dominated the election (studies show 8 in 10 deaths from Covid-19 this year were people aged 65 or older.) The deadliness of the virus for seniors has kept most of them relegated to their homes, a lifestyle Biden mirrored for much of the pandemic, while Trump traveled to events across the country. It’s also possible older voters are turned off by Trump’s “law and order” message, as polls show seniors slightly trust Biden more to keep them safe, instead of Trump.