Tag Archives for Darrell West

Silver Wave of Older Voters Important in Midterm Elections

Published in RINewsToday on October 19, 2026

Over the last four months, AARP has released polling results from nine battleground states to gauge candidate preferences, voter motivation, and the aging issues and policies that voters age 50 and older consider important when deciding who to vote for in the upcoming midterm elections.

AARP conducted the 2026 polls in Ohio (June), Georgia (July), Arizona and Michigan (August), Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Texas (September), and New Hampshire (October).

Now, just weeks before the November midterms, AARP has released its final report, “Targeted Congressional District (TCD) Voter Survey,” highlighting the outsized role older American voters could play in deciding key congressional races. As with its previous nine state polls, AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (R) and Impact Research (D) to conduct the survey.

The 21-page report examines voters in 43 congressional districts rated Toss Up, Lean Republican or Lean Democrat by the Cook Political Report. Its findings show that older voters are particularly concerned about rising prices, especially the cost of groceries and gasoline, as Election Day approaches.

The poll covering 43 competitive congressional districts, found these leading issues among voters age 50 and older:

  1. Rising prices and affordability
  2. Threats to democracy
  3. Immigration

Among persuadable voters 50-plus (21%), the priorities were different:

  1. Rising prices and affordability
  2. Social Security and Medicare
  3. Taxes

“Older voters are the nation’s most reliable voters. They decide elections, so candidates can’t afford to overlook them,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer, in an Oct. 15, 2026 statement announcing the report’s findings. “Older voters want leaders who will protect Social Security and Medicare, support family caregivers, and ensure everyone can age with financial independence and dignity,” she said.

Research over time has shown that older voters make up a large part of the electorate and have a major impact on election results nationwide. Exit polls found that voters age 50 and older cast 55% of all ballots in 2024 and 59% in 2022. In the last midterm election, more than six out of ten older voters went to the polls, compared to about three out of ten voters under 30.

Latest findings suggest that older voters will continue showing up at the polls. Eighty-three percent of voters age 50 and older said they were extremely motivated to vote in November, compared to 66% of voters under 50. About 21% of older voters are considered “persuadable,” meaning they are not firmly committed to either party’s congressional candidate.

The pollsters also looked at the country’s mood and voters’ financial situations. The findings were not encouraging. Sixty-two percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, while 59% are worried about their personal finances.

The report shows Democrats holding a slim 3-point lead (49% to 46%) on the generic congressional ballot in the 43 competitive districts, with 5% undecided. President Trump carried these districts by 6 points in 2016.

But these findings show a clear generational divide:

* Republicans lead by 10 points (53% to 43%) among voters age 50 and older – while…

* Democrats lead by 26 points (60% to 34%) among voters under 50.

Looking at race:

* Republicans hold a 4-point advantage among white voters, while

* Democrats lead among Hispanic voters by 15 points and Black voters by 43 points.

Education also plays a role:

* Democrats are doing better among college graduates than among voters without four-year degrees.

The pollsters found that persuadable voters remain closely divided.

* Democrats lead by 6 points (42% to 36%) among persuadable voters overall, while…

* Republicans hold just a 1-point advantage (39% to 38%) among persuadable voters age 50 and older.

* Another 23% of these older voters remain undecided.

Top Issues of Concern

Not surprisingly, rising prices and affordability top the list of concerns for older voters in these competitive congressional districts, followed by threats to democracy and immigration.

For persuadable voters age 50 and older, the top three issues influencing their vote are rising prices and affordability, Social Security and Medicare, and taxes.

Looking more closely at Social Security, 58% of older voters say the program is or will be a major source of household income. An overwhelming 94% say they would be more likely to support a candidate who ensures they receive the Social Security benefits they earned through a lifetime of work.

On health care, 85% say they would be more likely to support a candidate who expands Medicare’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices.

Caregiving is another important issue. Half of older voters surveyed say they are or have been family caregivers. At the same time, 77% would be more likely to support a candidate who provides a tax credit to help cover the costs of unpaid family caregiving.

Affordability. And when it comes to rising prices, groceries and gasoline remain the two biggest concerns.

Taking a Look at Gray Power at the Polls

Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Brown University professor, agrees with the findings of AARP’s latest survey. Older voters have become a crucial swing group that could shape this year’s election, he says.

West explains that seniors don’t vote as a monolith. They regularly shift their votes between Republicans and Democrats. Ultimately, their choices in November may come down to how well candidates protect the programs they rely on most, particularly Social Security and Medicare.

“This invaluable poll illustrates that seniors and older adults matter,” says Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM). “Seniors will be the largest block of voters, and politicians ignore them at their own peril,” he warns.

“Seniors, who are more likely to live on a fixed income, have been especially hurt by Trump’s affordability crisis. This underlines the importance of Social Security in this election. This is why we say ‘Social Security is on the Ballot!’” stresses Richtman.

Richtman estimates that voters age 65 and older will account for more than 30% of the electorate. While Republicans have historically enjoyed an advantage among these voters, Democrats have narrowed that gap in recent elections, he says.

“Supporting Social Security is both good policy and good politics,” Richtman claims, pointing to the poll’s finding that 94% of older voters are more likely to support candidates who protect their Social Security benefits.

While AARP is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that does not endorse political candidates, NCPSSM’s political action committee does.

According to Richtman, NCPSSM-PAC has endorsed and supported more than 50 candidates nationwide, including Josh Turek (Iowa), Dan Osborne (Nebraska), Abdul El-Sayed (Michigan), Roy Cooper (North Carolina) and Jon Ossoff (Georgia).

NCPSSM also compiles a congressional scorecard to inform older Americans about how votes in Washington affect Social Security, Medicare and other programs important to them. Based on the organization’s legislative priorities, Democrats generally receive higher scores than Republicans.

Richtman notes that NCPSSM-PAC has been busy educating voters about the stakes of this election through its “Social Security on the Ballot” mobilization campaign. Its message is that the lawmakers elected this November will help determine Social Security’s future and whether beneficiaries receive the benefits they have paid for. The organization is getting that message out through town halls, press conferences, social media, and traditional media appearances. It also works with candidates and campaigns on policy issues affecting older Americans.

Meanwhile, AARP continues its own voter education efforts through its “Social Security, Your Vote, Its Future” initiative, asking congressional candidates how they would protect and strengthen the program.

The nation’s largest organization representing older Americans also provides research and analysis on Social Security policies, works with federal officials and members of Congress, and organizes public education efforts to inform and mobilize its members.

Through its “I Am a Social Security Voter” campaign, AARP encourages voters to prioritize protecting Social Security when evaluating candidates.

AARP’s latest report suggests that in tightly contested congressional districts, the “silver wave” of older voters may be the deciding factor in who goes to Washington and who stays home.

Stay tuned…

The survey was conducted by AARP’s bipartisan polling group, Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research, and interviewed 1,368 likely voters in 43 competitive congressional districts between October 1 and 5, 2026, using a combination of cell phone, landline, and a text-to-web survey in both English and Spanish; the margin of sampling error is ±2.7 percentage points.

Full Survey Results: AARP’s 2026 Targeted Congressional District Voter Poll; go to Targeted Congressional District Voter Survey.

For AARP’s 2026 Midterm Election Polls, go to Older Voters in the 2026 Midterm Elections in Battleground States.

On the Political Art of Compromise

          Published on August 3, 2012, Pawtucket Times

          The bipartisan spirit is briefly alive and well inside the Beltway.  With the Presidential and Congressional elections looming, just a little more than three months away, top Democratic and Republican Leadership this week forged an agreement to pass a “continuing resolution” to keep the federal government afloat for six months after the current budget year ends at the end of September. 

          Politically speaking, who wants to face the wrath of American voters fueled by the possibility of a government shut down before Election Day on November 6, 2012?  Not our lawmakers.

           After the upcoming November election, America’s political system may well become more polarized creating Congressional gridlock, if Tea Party candidates come to Washington, DC supporting the philosophy of  “no-compromise.”  If this occurs major policy decisions like reforming the nation’s retirement system and keeping Medicare afloat might happen only when the proverbial “Hell freezes over.”

Tea Party on the Rampage

         Tea Party backed candidate, Ted Cruz, won the Texas Republican Senate primary this week, potentially tilting the Senate toward the right if he wins in November. Over the years, we have seen moderate Republicans toppled by candidates aligned to the Tea Party who view working across the aisle as a weakness and compromise as a political sin.

        In one instance, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a six-term GOP Senator lost his Republican primary race two months ago against State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who was backed by a coalition of Tea Party-aligned groups.  In his concession speech, the 80 year old Lugar warned Mourdock  that his goal of riding “the Republican Party of those who stray from orthodoxy as they see it” won’t be able to problem solve or govern.” The longest serving Senator in the State’s history also warned that “unless he modifies his approach, he will achieve little as a legislator.”  

       Last February, Senator Olympia Snow, of Maine, chose voluntary to walk away from the U.S. Senate after being a moderate voice in that chamber of 33 years, noting her decision was based on intense partisan bickering that now echoes throughout the Halls of Congress. 

       “Politics has been defined as the art of the possible.  That means compromise on both sides is needed to move the public business forward,” says Susan Sweet, a well-know lobbyist and consultant for nonprofit agencies and causes.  While the Democratic Party encompasses people of wide philosophies, the Republican party has become a party of “intransient idealogues,” observes Sweet. “Their sharp turn to the right has distanced and alienated moderate Republicans who previously formed a bridge for compromise and progress.  Moderates, like the late Senator Nelson Rockefeller of New York and the late Senator John Chafee were examples of the politicians who knew the art of politics, how to negotiate and when to compromise.

Reaching Across the Aisle

         But wait, Senator Orrin Hatch, concludes in an opinion piece, “Ted Kennedy: Later Senator Sought Bipartisan,” in the October 22, 2009, published in US News, you can support your political party’s philosophy and still be bipartisan, too.               

         The Republican Senator from Utah, who has served his state since 1977, considered Kennedy, who fought for the principles and philosophy of the Democratic Party, one of the nation’s greatest leaders for reaching across the aisle.

        Considered to be one of the most liberal Democrats in the last 50 years, who spearheaded almost every Democratic cause, Senator Hatch applauded his friends “ability and willingness to set party aside when there was some good to be done.”

         According to Senator Hatch in his opinion piece, the failing of American politics results from “politicians being too willing to toe the party line,”  not wanting to compromise their political agenda, “even when accepting the ideas and contributions of those outside their Party will advance their cause.”

            Sen. Hatch also viewed the late Democratic Senator’s lasting political legacy was “his unwillingness to let partisanship ruin a good opportunity to help those in need, and his ability to inspire others to follow his example.”

           Also, noted in Sen. Hatch’s USNews opinion piece, when in the minority, Senator Kennedy successfully enacted legislation because of his willingness to “move to the center or even the center-right when he recognized that Republicans shared his goals, even if they had different ideas on how to achieve those goals.”

           When the Democrats-controlled Congress, Senator Kennedy reached out to the minority GOP to get his legislation passed.  Senator Hatch noted that Massachusetts Senior Senator “had the political courage to defy interest groups and even his own party in order to reach bipartisan compromise,” to move legislation, specifically, the Children Health Insurance Program, the Ryan White AIDS Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

          Darrell West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution, views Senator Kennedy’s most famous bipartisan legislation to be No Child Left Behind.  “He worked closely with President George W. Bush to pass this bill.  He reached across the political aisle and was able to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass this education reform, said the former Rhode Islander, noting that this was one of many such bipartisan successes on the Senator’s part.  There are few people left in the Senate who have the interest in or credibility for this type of outreach.

Campaigns Gearing Up for Votes

            By now, political candidates are mailing campaign literature to aging baby boomers and seniors, hoping to effectively deliver their political messages and ultimately to influence their votes.

            As the nation pulls out of the economic doldrums, voters must educate themselves to the real issues and read in between the lines of campaign literature to learn more about the candidate’s background and issues.

           Marking the ballot in the voting booth becomes even more difficult in heated partisan campaigns where you must separate political bickering, rhetoric and negative innuendoes from the substance of issues.

           Keeping Social Security afloat, fixing a broken Medicare program, or bringing fairness to the nation’s tax codes, will not happen if Congress cannot compromise or negotiate on legislative proposals.   No longer can our elected officials view issues either black or white, but can be shades of gray.

Rising to the Political Occasion

         Even with his human frailties, Sen. Kennedy rose to the political occasion time after time and to confront legislative challenges by reaching out to both political friends and foes.  One might say he wrote the tome on the art of political compromise and negotiations, a guide for both his Democratic and Republican Congressional Colleagues to follow.

             The rise of the Tea Party and its political philosophy of  “no-compromise” and “torch and burn” to ensure ideological purity, will have an adverse impact on every generation, from today’s seniors, their aging baby boomer children, and finally, to their young grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

                  Where are the Republican Congressional moderates of today when the nation sorely need’s them to do the public’s business.

             Herb Weiss is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues.  This commentary was published in the August 3, 2012 issue of the Pawtucket Times. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.