AARP Florida-Florida Politics poll finds Social Security high priority for older voters

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Poll checked on priorities of Florida's most reliable voting bloc.

Florida Politics partnered with AARP Florida to learn the political priorities of the state’s most reliable voting bloc— those over age 50.

With the March 17 Democratic presidential primary around the corner, pollsters asked the top priority voters have in picking a candidate.

Nearly 98% of Democratic voters age 50 and older list Social Security and Medicare as extremely or very important when picking a candidate. Some 96% say the same about honesty in government. About 95% rank health care high, and 90% offer the same assessment regarding the high cost of prescription drugs.

That’s no surprise to AARP leaders tracking policy in Florida for years.

“We’re making strides to lower the cost of prescription drugs in Florida, but that’s only a portion of the health care picture,” said Jeff Johnson, AARP Florida state director. “Keeping Social Security and Medicare healthy and viable remain another top priority.”

The poll also found 85% of older residents here worry about the deep divisions in America often or somewhat often. About 75% worry prices in America are growing faster than their incomes, and 71% experience worry over health care costs.

The poll also found Joe Biden leading Bernie Sanders in Florida, with the support of 73.3% of voters. That’s in the neighborhood of support Biden got in a separate St. Pete Polls survey commissioned by Florida Politics.

But Peter Schorsch, Florida Politics publisher, said the results show that for older voters, the issues transcend personalities on the debate stage.

“These latest poll numbers show that while voters are still making up their minds about which candidate to support, they are resolute about the issues that are important to them,” he said.

Johnson said Florida’s AARP voters will apply careful scrutiny to candidates before they vote.

“This election is important to everybody, but we predict women will bring extra scrutiny to the voting booths,” Johnson said.

“They value ethics, trustworthiness and intelligence as important characteristics for their leaders who’ll tackle the important issues of health care and high prescription drug costs.”

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].



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Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




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