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Candidates Chase Senior Vote

Now that the party conventions are over and the fall campaign has begun in earnest, AFSCME members — working and retired — are mobilizing nationwide to elect John Kerry the next President of the United States. Deeply concerned about the new Medicare/prescription drug law and Bush's support for Social Security privatization, AFSCME retirees are particularly active this election season, spreading the word to fellow seniors that our future retirement security is at stake.

SWING VOTE. This year, both candidates for President think they have a chance to win the senior vote — approximately 25 percent of the electorate. Once a reliable Democratic voting group, older Americans are now seen as a "swing" vote — leaning either Dem or GOP, depending on the specific election.

Clearly, President Bush thought his new Medicare law would bring him senior support and was taken by surprise by the avalanche of anger and disappointment that followed its enactment. Kerry opposed the new law, believing it did more harm than good, and wants to go back to the drawing board on Medicare drug coverage. Polls now show Kerry with a strong lead on this and other health care issues among prospective voters nationwide.

FOR BILL & AL. Recent history shows a clear seniors' preference for Democratic Presidential candidates. In 1992, they voted for Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush by 50 percent to 38 percent. Four years later, Clinton won the older vote, 48-44, over Bob Dole. Al Gore also did well with seniors in the 2000 election, winning 51 percent of their votes, compared to the 47 percent won by George W. Bush.

Go back a little further, however, and it's a different picture. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan claimed the senior vote twice, and George H.W. Bush held that ground in 1988.

MIXED RECORD. Congressional voting patterns also vary. The parties showed a mixed record among seniors in the 90s, with Democrats winning the vote by 51-47 in the last congressional race (2002).

This election year, the differences between candidates and parties couldn't be more stark. In the Presidential race, Kerry and Bush have decidedly different views on job creation, health care coverage and the handling of the war in Iraq. On Social Security, Bush says carving out private accounts from Social Security will be a top priority of a second term Kerry says it'll never happen when he's in the White House. And then, of course, there's Medicare....

This portion of the website is posted in full compliance with FEC regulations (11C.F.R. Sect.11 4.5(i)). It is paid for by the AFSCME PEOPLE Committee, with voluntary contributions from union members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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