Pennsylvania's seniors could cost Kamala Harris the election as they trust Trump more on economy, poll shows

Vice President Kamala Harris is trailing former President Donald Trump when it comes to crucial senior voters in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania as the economy remains the top issue for them.  

According to new polling by AARP, Trump leads among voters fifty and older by a whopping eight points in the state, 52 percent to 44 percent, and these voters signal that they are very motivated to cast ballots in the election. 

Pennsylvania with its nineteen electoral votes is one of the most important swing states for both Trump and Harris on their path for the White House, and it could decide the entire election. 

The polling found while Trump leads among seniors, the race overall remains close in Pennsylvania with Harris up 49 percent to Trump's 47 percent. Three percent of voters remain undecided with just 35 days to go before Election Day.

Voters fifty and older are among some of the likeliest to show up and vote in the election. 

AARP found that ninety-one percent of voters fifty and older said they are 'extremely motivated' to vote in the looming election. It is a six percent increase since the AARP's first 2024 poll conducted in the state in May.

At the same time, just 71 percent of voters under fifty said they are extremely motivated. 

The polling found that while older voters see multiple issues as important, the economy and jobs are among the top issues for such voters in the state.

The vast majority also said Social Security, Medicare and helping people stay in their homes as they get older also are extremely important when it comes to who they are casting their vote for.

Among older voters, the cost of food, utilities and health care and prescription drugs are among the top cost concerns for voters fifty and over as prices have remained elevated from pre-pandemic levels. 

At the same time, more than eight in ten older Pennsylvania voters also want a member of Congress who wants Medicare to continue negotiating for lower drug prices. 

Medicare for the first time is now able to directly negotiate with companies to lower certain drug prices starting in 2026 thanks to provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats and signed into law by President Biden in 2022.

But overall, fifty-five precent of voters fifty and older approve of the job Trump did while he was in office. Just forty-three percent of such voters approve of the job Harris is doing as vice president. 

While Trump leads among older voters by eight points, polling shows he won voters fifty and up over Biden in 2020 by similar margins. However, Biden won Pennsylvania overall. 

According to the AARP polling, Harris holds a sizable lead among Pennsylvania likely voters under 50 with 54 percent to Trump's 40 percent. 

There is also a significant gender gap in the state. Harris leads Trump by nineteen points among women while Trump leads by sixteen points among men. 

The Keystone State also has a Senate election come November with Democratic Senator Bob Casey up for reelection. 

Casey leads Republican challenger David McCormick by four points among likely voters in the state, 49 percent to 45 percent.  

However, McCormick leads among voters fifty and older by five points, 50 percent to 45 percent. Five percent of those fifty and up said they were still undecided.