Democrats in Chicago hope to turn the senior tide toward new guard Harris, Walz

CHICAGO — Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, had a tradition as a young voter of going to the polls with his grandfather, Willie.

It was one of their last acts together before Willie died in 2004, he said.

Harrison’s deep connections to his grandparents brought him to the senior council meeting in McCormick Place on Wednesday afternoon as part of the convention.

“I will always come to this caucus even if I don’t have a voice because you are the heart of this nation,” he said, through a strained voice. “I stand on your shoulders. I would not be here if not for folks like you because of all of the hardships, all of the hard roads that you helped pave to make it easy for me so that I can make it easy for my young boys.”

Securing the senior vote — one of the most politically active demographics in the country — has long been a priority for Democrats and Republicans alike.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the council discussed topics like protecting Social Security, strengthening Medicare and securing the senior vote — emphasizing the difference just a few votes could have on the entire election.

Democrats tout the work of President Joe Biden’s administration for passing legislation to cap insulin prices, and for championing the Inflation Reduction Act, which expanded Medicare benefits.

Pollster Celinda Lake said she has given many presentations throughout the convention, but stressed her talk at the senior council was the most important. She told the group that just five or 10 points for Vice President Kamala Harris with senior voters could guarantee a Democratic victory in November’s presidential election against Republican Donald Trump.

“I don’t mean to put you under any pressure, but literally it’s up to this caucus. Winning and losing is up to this caucus,” Lake said.

For battleground states like Nevada, a few extra senior votes can hold even more weight than usual.

Trump has a slight advantage among the senior population in Nevada, with 48% of a surveyed sample size backing the former president, according to data from the Alliance for Retired Americans.

The group surveyed likely senior voters in six battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada — to better comprehend their stance ahead of November’s presidential election.

The organization has 4.4 million members across the country, including many union members and community activists, and an independent political arm, the Retired Americans PAC. The PAC aims to elect candidates the organization believes will strengthen retirement security and protect the interests of older Americans.

Pollster Jason McGrath said Nevada’s demographics presented a challenge for Democrats to win elections as frequently as they do, citing a “heavy white, noncollege-educated segment of the electorate that has become more and more conservative over the years.”

He said the labor movements’ efforts and turnout work are behind the successes of the Democratic Party in the state.

“The reason that we have been able to get to a 50% or to a good number in a lot of these mass races, these Senate races, presidential contests in recent years, is because of (organized) labor,” McGrath said.

McGrath added that polling in the Silver State came with a caveat inapplicable to the other battleground states. While people may be reachable in the evening in Pennsylvania or Michigan, many potential Nevadan voters are often working during the standard poll-calling hours.

“We have to dial differently and get our results that way, and I think people organize there differently as well. Having that know-how is important in terms of a very, very marginal state like Nevada,” McGrath said.

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