A new AARP Poll of competitive US House Districts finds older voters focused on several key issues. Erin Fabrizius is an associate state director of advocacy for AARP Wisconsin, where older voters are the key demographic. “Voters 50 plus were 75% of the vote here in our August primary in Wisconsin, and we expect them to play a really big role on November 3rd.”
The nationwide poll included Wisconsin’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts, but Fabrizius says voter concerns apply to state races too. “Older voters want all candidates to be talking about family caregivers, retirement security, and the cost of living.”
The poll found more than 1 in 2 50 plus voters were family caregivers. “Family caregiving can be as simple as taking someone to a doctor’s appointment or making sure they get groceries every week. So this poll is just confirming what we know that more than half of Americans and 1 million folks in Wisconsin are family caregivers. And they said in this poll they wanna see candidates doing something to provide relief to family caregivers.”
The survey underscores just how engaged older voters are heading into November. Eighty-three percent of voters 50+ said they are extremely motivated to vote, compared with 66% of voters under 50. Amongst target congressional district voters, the poll also found:
- 85% say they are more likely to support a candidate who would protect Social Security from cuts, including reductions to the annual cost-of-living adjustment.
- 85% of voters 50+ say they are more likely to support a candidate who would expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices to help lower prescription drug costs.
- 80% of voters 50+ say rising prices are an important factor in deciding their vote, with groceries and gasoline ranking as their two biggest price concerns.
- Among persuadable voters 50+, the top three issues are: rising prices and affordability, Social Security and Medicare, and taxes.
- 50% are or have been family caregivers, and 77% would be more likely to support a candidate who would provide a tax credit to help cover costs for unpaid family caregivers.
- 58% say Social Security is or will be a major source of household income, and 94% are more likely to support a candidate who will ensure they receive the Social Security they have earned.
AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (R) and Impact Research (D) to survey 1,368 likely voters across the 43 congressional districts rated Toss Up or Lean Republican/Democrat by the Cook Political Report. The survey was conducted October 1-5, 2026, using live interviews on cell phones and landlines as well as SMS-to-web interviews. The margin error for the full sample is ±2.7%.