Reader TTS

When it comes to Nevada’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen has a comfortable lead over GOP challenger Sam Brown according to the AARP poll. Forty-nine percent of Nevada

voters support Rosen, while 44 percent back Brown, the poll found. However, voters 50-plus favor the Republican: 49 percent of older voters back Brown, compared to 44 percent who support

Rosen. AARP (Getty Images) The races for Nevada’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, meanwhile, also reveal a closely divided electorate, with 47 percent of Nevadans saying

they would cast a ballot for a Republican, and 46 percent saying they were voting for a Democrat. Following the trend in top-of-the-ballot races, half of voters 50-plus said they were voting

for the GOP candidate for Congress, and 43 percent said they were backing the Democratic candidate. OLDER VOTERS ARE A POWERFUL COHORT Voters 50-plus are an important audience for

candidates: They made up 54 percent of the voting electorate in 2020, and 61 percent of the vote in 2022, according to exit polls. They also turn out in large numbers. Eighty-nine percent of

Nevada voters 50-plus say they are extremely motivated to vote this year compared to 83 percent of voters 18-plus, the AARP poll found. That’s an increase from the June AARP poll, when 85

percent of older voters and 73 percent of all voters said they were extremely motivated to vote. When it comes to how they plan to vote, 43 percent of older voters say they will vote early

in person, 32 percent say they’ll vote by mail ballot and 20 percent say they plan to vote in person on Election Day. AARP (Getty Images) “The closeness of the race shows just how important

voters 50-plus will be to the outcome of the presidential race,” says Maria Moore, state director of AARP Nevada. “Candidates need to pay attention to the pocketbook issues older voters care

about most, like preserving Social Security and keeping drug prices low.” Voters 50-plus indicate they could be swayed if candidates support issues that impact their lives. Ninety-two

percent of older Nevada voters say they’re more likely to vote for a candidate who advocates to make sure workers get the Social Security they earned, and 73 percent say they’re more likely

to support a candidate who works to protect the program from cuts. From a list of issues important to older adults, Nevada voters 50-plus rank Social Security (80 percent), Medicare (73

percent), cost of utilities (72 percent), policies to help older adults live independently at home as they age (70 percent), cost of housing (69 percent) and cost of prescription drugs (65

percent) as extremely important when deciding their vote.