New Bring The Vote Home Poll Finds Majority of Seniors Think Country is on the Wrong Track and Now Favor Trump Over Clinton

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Approaching the 2016 election year, Bring The Vote Home (BTVH) - a nationwide initiative that is surveying seniors on a wide range of issues while empowering them to engage fully in America's electoral process – today released the results of polling data that surveyed more than 2,000 registered voters over age 65 this month. The data found that a large majority of older Americans feel the country is on the wrong track (79 percent) and, following a trend from last month, disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president (61 percent). If the general election were held today, 28 percent of respondents would cast their vote for Donald Trump, with votes for Hillary Clinton trailing behind at 25 percent.

Departing from a trend in last month's poll, when seniors were asked about the issues of economy, national security, health care, seniors, women, education and energy, 37 percent of respondents said candidates' position on national security is of greatest importance with seniors' issues following at 28 percent. Last month, seniors' issues weighed most heavily on the minds of senior voters. However, a majority (70 percent) of seniors still feel the 2016 presidential candidates have not been paying enough attention to issues affecting seniors.

Ninety-two percent of seniors said the issue of the Islamic State known as ISIS was important when asked specifically about the 2016 presidential election and 71 percent of seniors feel less safe from terrorism compared to before September 11, 2001. Furthermore, 71 percent oppose the government allowing additional refugees from Syria into the United States.

The poll also revealed that 59 percent of senior voters believe Medicare will cover all or most of their healthcare expenses. Other programs and means of payment for healthcare expenses did not resonate as well with senior respondents. For example, 65 percent of senior voters think that some and/or none of their healthcare expenses will be covered by a retirement savings account such as a 401K or IRA. Sixty-five percent of respondents also had the same feelings about Social Security's ability to cover healthcare expenses.

Although 61 percent of seniors primarily rely on Medicare to cover their healthcare expenses and the majority of the seniors surveyed have the most confidence in Medicare to cover health related expenses, only 38 percent trust the Democratic Party when it comes to Medicare and just 33 percent trust the Republican Party.

"This most recent poll once again proves that seniors are paying attention to what candidates are doing and saying and are staying current on issues affecting the nation," stated Eric Berger, CEO of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare. "A cornerstone of BTVH's mission is to educate candidates and lawmakers on how seniors feel about timely and relevant issues and it's clear that national security, seniors' issues, and healthcare are top of mind. Seniors will be voting for the candidate who will be their strongest advocate."

The BTVH survey was conducted as part of a Morning Consult Poll from December 4 to 10, 2015. The poll surveyed 2,001 registered voters, age 65 and older, and has a margin error of two percentage points.

To view the National Seniors Poll Charts, click here.

To read the National Seniors Poll Results Memo, click here.

Bring the Vote Home is a nationwide initiative that is surveying seniors on a wide range of issues while empowering them to engage fully in America's electoral process.  To learn more, visit bringthevotehome.org.

SOURCE Bring The Vote Home