MADISON, WI – AARP Wisconsin’s final battleground election survey of likely Wisconsin voters age 50-plus finds President Trump (46%) trailing former Vice President Joe Biden (49%). The poll results have moved only slightly from AARP WI’s first poll, released Sept. 10, which showed Trump (45%) trailing Biden (50%).
The survey, conducted by Benenson Strategy Group, also found that fears about contracting the coronavirus have increased among those age 50-plus – from 53% worried about catching the virus a month ago to 65% in the latest poll.
“Wisconsin is poised to play a crucial role in the outcome of this year’s election and our survey indicates it will come down to the wire this fall,” said AARP Wisconsin State Director Sam Wilson. “Any candidate who wants to win needs to talk about their plans to protect the health and financial security of 50-plus voters.”
With 4 percent of those polled saying they are still undecided, Wilson stressed that candidates must talk about the issues that matter to voters 50 and over, such as voting safely from home or in-person, preventing cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and lowering prescription drug prices.
“Wisconsin voters age 50 and up consistently turn out at a higher rate than younger voters, they are casting their ballots earlier than ever. That’s why candidates need to address their concerns now,” Wilson said.
Poll findings include:
- President Trump (46%) trails former Vice President Joe Biden (49%), with 4% undecided and 1% saying they won’t vote.
- Overall favorability for Trump is up two points from the Sept. poll, from 48 to 50. Biden’s favorability went down from 50 to 48.
- Those surveyed favored Trump over Biden to rebuild the economy, but favored Biden in several issue areas, such as making health care affordable, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, healing divisions caused by racism, protecting those 50-plus from the coronavirus, working effectively with both parties and looking out for the middle class.
- More than 6 in 10 (61%) said the source of information they rely most heavily upon to learn about the candidates is news media (TV, newspapers/magazines, online news sites or apps). No other information source received more than 10 percent.
Benenson Strategy Group conducted the survey among 658 likely 2020 voters age 50-plus in Wisconsin, which was fielded from Oct. 1-5, 2020. The poll has a plus-minus 3.82 percent margin of error at the 95 level of confidence.
In August, AARP launched “Protect Voters 50+,” a comprehensive voter engagement campaign to support and protect Americans 50-plus as they vote in the 2020 elections. The campaign will help Americans over 50 vote safely, whether at home or in person.
The “Protect Voters 50+” campaign will provide people with the information they need about this year’s elections, including video voters’ guides, issue briefings, direct mail, text messaging, social media and paid media.
AARP does not endorse any candidates or political parties.
