GOP Priorities are Out of Touch with this Critical Voting Bloc but Democrats Must Continue to Communicate their Priorities and GOP Weaknesses ahead of November

Washington, DC – A new nationwide survey of likely voters aged 60 and older shows Trump and the GOP losing ground with voters. Over the past year, Trump’s favorability has seen a net decrease of 8 points while his job approval rating has seen a decline of 11 points with this demographic. The survey, commissioned by Retired Americans PAC, finds the movement away from Trump is driven in large part by Independents. In a generic Congressional Ballot, Democrats took a slim lead over Republicans, with the Democratic candidate earning 46 points to the Republican candidate’s 44.

While Trump and Republicans continue to hemorrhage support, Democrats have made gains against the GOP on every key issue, including health care, the economy, Medicare, and Social Security since Retired Americans PAC’s 2025 survey. Respondents identified lowering prices and cracking down on government corruption as their top two issues. When asked which party would be best at handling key issues, the poll found that Democrats are now trusted over the GOP by double digits on Medicaid and Medicare, and by 9 points on Social Security – significant positive shifts from 2025.

Democrats have an opportunity to make real gains across the country, but in crucial battleground districts, the race to win over older voters remains extremely tight. These districts constitute 17% of the total electorate, and winning them will require dedicated resources and sustained, targeted communication leading up to the midterms.

“Trump and Republicans have wreaked havoc on vital programs with broad support among older Americans: making it harder to access Social Security benefits by gutting Social Security workers and closing field offices, slashing Medicaid, and driving prescription drug prices higher. Their actions are costing them the trust of older voters,” said Richard Fiesta, an expert on retirement security issues and Treasurer of Retired Americans PAC. “That trust is hanging by a thread, and if they continue to misplace their focus on tax cuts for the rich and the war in Iran over bringing down costs, voters across the country will continue to sour on them.

“Older voters are demanding real leadership and action on the issues that matter most to them. From tackling the affordability crisis and rooting out corruption in government, it’s clear that Democrats are gaining ground on these key issues. But there is still significant ground to make up – and they must spend every day between now and Election Day working to communicate clear solutions to the challenges facing this critical voting bloc,” Fiesta continued.

The poll of 1,000 likely 2026 general election voters ages 60 and up was conducted by GBAO between April 7-15, 2026 on behalf of Retired Americans PAC.* The survey also included an oversample of 400 likely voters age 60 and up across 69 Congressional battleground districts. Battleground districts constitute 17% of the total electorate.

Memo with more details from pollster GBAO is here.

*Respondents were reached via landline, cell phone, and text-to-web, and the results carry a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

Contact: Lisa Cutler at lcutler@retiredamericanspac.org

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Retired Americans PAC is the independent political arm of the Alliance for Retired Americans. We work to elect candidates who are committed to strengthening retirement security, protecting the interests of older Americans and defeating those who have taken positions that would harm older Americans. Our independent expenditure campaigns are aimed at educating and mobilizing older voters and have a strong record of success.

Paid for by Retired Americans PAC. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.