With all due respects to the middle-aged folks reading this column, if you really want to have some fun, take a dive into the latest polling data on the extreme ends of the age spectrum i.e. young voters vs. older voters.
Fasten your seat belts because the much-celebrated generation gap is profound as it relates to how these groups play politics.
For openers, seniors play way more than their 10 to 34-yearold counterparts.
78% of those over 65 are registered to vote while the younger folks clock in at 49%.
Who actually votes? Not even close. Young voters 48%. Seniors 72%.
A popular theory to explain this wide gap may be linked to the fact that many of those older citizens fought in two world wars to protect the right to vote while the only “veterans” in the younger ranks are those who volunteered to serve their country.
In the current Michigan presidential race, the difference of opinion again is stark.
Seniors pick the current president over the former president by an 11-point margin, 50% to 39% with 11% on the fence.
18- to 34-year-olds are pumped for Trump with 46% vs. 37% with 17% on the fence.
This later finding from EPICMRA pollster veteran Bernie Porn, that is not his stage name, is interesting in that newer voters helped Mr. Biden win as 12% more of them voted for him in 2020 than voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and one source notes, “they played a decisive role in Biden’s victory.”
However, this unanimity on how they would vote if Mr. Trump were convicted on any number of the 91 felony counts pending against him and he ends up in jail.
If that happens the senior vote is 57%-37% to vote against him and 56%-35% for the younger kids who agree but the generation gap is decidedly different when it comes to a possible conviction with no time in the slammer. Now it’s older folks 54%-37% against Mr. Trump but look at the 43%-44% split on the other side.
The Biden team is concerned about the youth vote as the harsh reality is, if they stiff him now, it could actually cost him his own re-election if their anger/ fervor over the Biden policy on the Gaza war does not cool down. To make his re-election hopes dim even more are the Arab American and Muslim voters as well; a good chunk of which live in Michigan and could help to vote him out of office even though Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has warned both groups that Donald Trump would be “bad” for everyone.
On the war the two voting categories actually have something in common. A plurality wants a cease fire.
47% of the seniors favor a cease fire and 37% not. While 63% of the 18-34 group want an end to the war yesterday while only 17% concur.
Regarding the right track/ wrong track question on the state of the economy, young and old agree again.
29% of those 65 and over think the economy will get better vs. 22% who fear it will get worse with 40% thinking it will stay the same. The 18–34-year-olds are also at 29% to improve, 18% get worse, and 42% status quo.
While seniors may look aghast at the younger generation’s “addiction” to social media and cell phones, the older folks do need their counterparts to keep working for another “social” issue...social security. And the younger voters, some say, should show a little respect for their elders who laid the foundation for many of the positive aspects of the life they enjoy now.
Is it too trite to say that they both need each other despite their political differences outlined here?
