AARP Pennsylvania hosted a virtual press briefing on Oct. 1, ahead of the Walz-Vance V.P. Debate, revealing the results from its latest statewide election survey. Conducted in collaboration with bipartisan pollsters from Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research, the briefing provided analysis and insight into where Pennsylvania voters stand on the Presidential, Senate, Attorney General, and Treasurer candidates, and the issues that matter most to the 50-plus.

Ultimately, the survey indicated that candidates for President, U.S. Senate, and state races should pay close attention to Pennsylvanians in this age distribution. Particularly, ninety-one percent of voters ages 50 and older say they are “extremely motivated” to vote in this election, a six-point increase since AARP Pennsylvania’s first poll, released in May. 

Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director, emphasized AARP’s mission to make sure that the most important issues facing older adults get the attention and action they deserve. He recalled how in the 2020 elections, older voters accounted for 55 percent of all Pennsylvania voters and how in the 2022 midterms, they made up 62 percent.

“As you can see from today’s poll, 91 percent of the 50-plus Pennsylvania voters are extremely motivated to cast their vote ballot on election day come November,” he said. “Pennsylvania is a pivotal battleground state, and we know that whoever wins Pennsylvania wins the presidency, and once again in this election cycle, older Pennsylvanians will play an important role in the outcome, and all candidates should be listening to the thoughts and concerns of the 50-plus in the Commonwealth.”

The Importance of Pennsylvania Women Aged 50+ in the Presidential Election

While the importance of voters aged 50-plus is no doubt important to the upcoming election, more specifically, women in this age bracket hold particular importance.

“While both parties have their key issues — such as immigration for Republicans and abortion and reproductive rights for Democrats — the overarching concern in the 2024 election is the economy,” said Pollster Bob Ward. “Notably, two-thirds of women over 50 are worried about their personal financial situations, making this a pocketbook election, especially among older voters. It’s vital for campaigns to focus on economic issues to engage and mobilize older voters in Pennsylvania.”

Ward also noted that there is a very large gender gap overall in the state, with Harris winning women by 19 points, and Trump winning men by 16 points.

“We look at older voters, the race among women 50 plus is dead even at 48 and so this is the most closely contested demographic in Pennsylvania, and older men are only voting for Trump by 17 points,” he said. “We also note that older women are the demographic where personal financial worry is among the highest.”

Motivation To Vote and Key Voter Issues for Pennsylvanians 50 and Older

On the topic of financial worry among women in this older voting group, there are a handful of other primary issues among voters 50-plus that will affect their decision-making in the upcoming elections.

Before uncovering these topics, Jeff Liszt, Partner, Impact Research, noted that the percentage of voters extremely motivated to vote rose from 73 percent in April to 82 percent in October. And that while the gap between older and younger voters has narrowed slightly, a notable 20-point difference remains. Specifically, 91 percent of voters aged 50 and older report being extremely motivated, compared to 71 percent of those aged 18 to 49.

“Motivation to vote is lowest among voters 18-34 at 67 percent, and it’s highest among seniors over 65 at 93 percent,” Liszt said.

Moving into the key issues affecting voters in this election, Liszt explained that even though immigration/border security is the single most important issue — driven mainly by that 63 percent among Republicans over age 50 — when you add up personal economic issues like inflation, the economy, social security, for 62 percent of Pennsylvania voters over 50, their vote is going to be determined by one of those personal economic issues.

“Social Security is the number one issue among Black voters over 50, which is the core of Kamala Harris’s strength,” he said. “She’s leading among Black voters over 50 by 80 percentage points. A big part of the reason for that is that Social Security is, or is expected to be, a major or at least minor source of income. By almost every voter over 50, 61 percent say that Social Security is, or will be a major source of their income, and 26 percent. say that expected to be at least a minor source of their income.”

Other key takeaways from the poll among older adults in Pennsylvania include:  

• Sixty-four percent say they are worried about their personal financial situation, with the cost of food and utilities ranking as top drivers of financial stress.  
• Immigration and border security (37 percent) is the single most important issue when deciding who to vote for in November, followed by inflation and rising prices (29 percent) and the economy and jobs (26 percent).  
• Twenty-seven percent of older voters are ticket-splitting swing voters. Trump leads Harris by five points, and Casey leads McCormick by seven points among these voters. 
• Twenty-nine percent of older voters identify as family caregivers, with 34 percent of older Black voters and 31 percent of older swing voters saying the same. 

About the Bipartisan Polling from Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research

AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (R) & Impact Research (D) to conduct a survey of voters in Pennsylvania. The firms interviewed 1,398 likely voters, which includes a statewide representative sample of 600 likely voters, an oversample of 470 likely voters ages 50 and older, and an additional oversample of 328 Black likely voters ages 50 and older. The survey was done between Sept. 17-24, 2024.

The interviews were conducted via live interviewer on landline (24 percent) and cellphone (35 percent), as well as SMS-to-web (41 percent). The sample was randomly drawn from the Pennsylvania voter list. The margin of sampling error at the 95 percent confidence level for the 600 statewide sample is ±4.0 percent; for the 800 total sample of voters 50+ is ±3.5 percent; for the 400 total sample of Black voters 50+ is ±4.9 percent. 

View the full survey results, and find all of AARP’s state battleground polls here. For more information on how, when, and where to vote in Pennsylvania, visit AARP.  

Learn more at AARP Pennsylvania. AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability, and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation’s largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.