Opinion: Older Granite Staters likely to decide 2024 election

Voters line up to cast their ballots in the midterm election at the Aspray Boat House in Warwick, R.I., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

Voters line up to cast their ballots in the midterm election at the Aspray Boat House in Warwick, R.I., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. David Goldman/ AP

By CHRISTINA FITZPATRICK

Published: 01-16-2024 6:00 AM

Christina FitzPatrick of Bow is AARP NH State Director.

As presidential candidates descend upon New Hampshire in earnest for the First-in-the-Nation primary and come face to face with Granite Staters, they’d be wise to realize who’s putting them into office: voters 50-plus. We vote in big numbers. And we care about issues that shape our lives.

Older adults are a force to be reckoned with because we are more likely than other age groups to vote. It was true over and over again for each recent election and it will be true again for the 2024 NH primary.

In 2022, voter turnout for the midterm among Americans ages 50 and older was 64%. Younger voters? Just 36%

As a result, the vast majority of voters, particularly in primaries, are older adults. The last time there was an open Republican primary in 2016, 57% of Republican primary voters were over the age of 50. (CNN 2016 entrance polls)

Those of us over 50 will decide the election. We care about the issues that shape our lives and the lives of future generations.

This year, we’re listening carefully to what the candidates have to say about two very important issues: supporting family caregivers and protecting Social Security.

New Hampshire is home to more than 168,000 family caregivers who are holding up a broken long-term care system. Their efforts allow their older parents, spouses, or other loved ones to live independently, as most would prefer to do as long as possible. Our unpaid caregivers provided more than 157 million of care hours a year which equates to $2.8 billion in unpaid labor.

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

Family caregivers need commonsense solutions that will save them time and money and provide them with more support. Elected officials can make this happen.

According to the 2022 AARP Battleground Survey, nationally, more than 70% of voters say they would be more likely to support a candidate who backed proposals to support family caregivers, such as paid family leave, a tax credit of up to $5,000; and expanded access to support and respite services. Candidates need to listen.

They also need to listen to 50-plus voters when it comes to Social Security. The Battleground survey mentioned previously found that 82% of voters 50-plus said Social Security is an extremely/very important voting issue, making it the highest-rated issue tested. This is not surprising! More than 1 in 5 New Hampshire residents, nearly 556,000 Granite Staters, receive Social Security.

Social Security puts retirement in reach for millions of Americans and helps people afford everyday expenses such as groceries, gas and housing.

This critical program faces a long-term shortfall. If our elected officials don’t take action to protect and save Social Security in the next ten years, we would each see a 20% cut in Social Security — an average of $4,000 a year.

We deserve to know where candidates stand on these key issues. AARP reached out to the top GOP candidates (those polling 3% or higher in the Real Clear Politics poll as of August 2023) and asked them to tell us where they stand on Social Security and support for family caregivers. Our goal in these interviews is to provide an opportunity for voters 50-plus to hear the unvarnished words of presidential candidates.

The candidate responses can be seen at aarp.org/nh.

Here at home, New Hampshire voters 50 and older are a critical voting demographic that all candidates are competing for in this presidential primary on Jan.23. The message is clear: if candidates want to win, they should pay attention to the issues that matter to older Granite Staters.