According to recent polls, Women voters, age 50 and older, have not decided which candidates to support—and the direction they choose could determine the balance of power in Congress and statehouses around the country.
Margie Omero, a member of a bipartisan team commissioned by AARP, said women across the political spectrum are very concerned about deepening political polarization getting in the way of solving problems.
"And it's something honestly we hear from Democrats and Republicans and independents," Omero said. "It's almost the thing that unites us as a country, this worry that we're divided."
Surveyors found that the top issues for women voters age 50 and older are economics and the day-to-day rise of inflation. By more than a 2:1 margin, women surveyed say they would vote for a candidate who is willing to work together to get things done, even if the result is an occasional compromise.
Significant majorities give elected officials "D" and "F" grades on issues including prices rising faster than income, the cost of health care and prescription drugs, and the wage gap between rich and poor. Omero said women also report experiencing lingering impacts of the global pandemic.
"Large numbers of women, about a third, said that they had been experiencing depression, grief, worries about family members getting ill, caregiving pressures, mental-health challenges during the pandemic," Omero said.
The AARP survey was completed before Roe v. Wade was overturned. A separate polling analysis by Tufts University suggests the Supreme Court decision will bring more younger women to the polls in November.
Omero said women have always played an important role in election outcomes, and expects this election to be no different.
"Older voters, in general, are reliable voters. And so this is a group that's important to pay attention to, because they vote, and they haven't decided yet," Omero said.
