QUINCY, Fla. — For weeks now, the Biden-Harris campaign has been aggressively trying to secure the senior vote here in Florida.
According to U.S. Census data, the Sunshine State ranks number two for those 65 and older — and operatives think making gains might help secure the state and presidency this November. Republicans, meanwhile, say it’s a welcomed waste of resources for their opponents.
Don’t let the golf carts fool you, the Florida seniors behind the wheel are a driving force in each November election. It’s why for weeks the Biden-Harris campaign has focused on making inroads with those 65 and up with stops in Palm Beach County, Hillsborough, and most recently — the small town of Quincy outside the state capital.
The campaign sought to snatch support from voters like Dorothy Walker. The Quincy resident said she was backing President Joe Biden and embracing his age.
“Age has nothing to do with how your mind works,” said Walker. “If you think about it, Trump’s mind scatters everywhere. Biden doesn’t. He might be a bit slow — other than that, he has a good mind.”
The sales pitch from Democratic operatives in these gatherings remains familiar: Tout Biden’s capping of insulin at $35 a month. Question if former President Donald Trump can be trusted to preserve Social Security and Medicare. It comes after he made comments like this on CNBC back in March.
“There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting, and in terms of also the theft and bad management of entitlements,” said the former president on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
The Trump campaign later clarified to CNN that Trump was “clearly talking about cutting waste, not entitlements.”
Even so, for Midway resident and Mayor Ronald Colston, Trump’s newfound criminal record was most damning.
“A felon cannot vote,” said Colston. “But you can put a felon in the White House. OK, can you explain that to me?”
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Taken together, it’s an attempt to win, or at the very least, make a dent in a population Democrats continue to struggle with — those 65 and older. It’s a demographic the party hasn’t won over since 2000.
However, the New York Times/Siena poll from April showed voting seniors gave Biden a nine-point lead in a head-to-head matchup against Trump. DNC Chair Jamie Harrison told us why he thinks the president has a chance.
“The seniors are well aware,” said Harrison. “Always well researched, they know who's fighting for them and who is not. At the end of the day, I think people are going to be surprised by the senior vote in this election.”
“You going to win them?” asked Forrest Saunders.
“I believe we can,” Harrison said.
It’s a tall order, especially here in Florida. Take Sumter County, for example. Home to the Villages, it’s one of the highest concentration of seniors in the state. The average age is about 68 and turnout rates are often close to or the best in Florida.
The Biden-Harris campaign made an effort here in 2020, but it still wasn’t enough to change this ruby-red zone. Trump won Sumter by about 36 points.
Florida’s GOP Chair Evan Power doesn’t think that’ll change this time around.
“Seniors have a lot of life experience. They’ve seen things,” said Power. “They see the failure that is the Joe Biden administration. I have confidence that seniors are going to vote for President Trump. And just like every other demographic group is going to vote for President Trump at the end of the day.”
Power said that included young people, as that same NYT poll showed Biden had only a one-point lead over Trump with those 18 to 29. It would be a remarkable swing for that age group if numbers hold in November.
Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris campaign was recently trying again with seniors in the Villages. The team hosted an event there just days ago. Time will tell if it pays off.
