Aarp poll: presidential race a toss-up in georgia

Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are tied among likely voters in the presidential race for the battleground state of Georgia, according to an exclusive AARP poll released

today. Forty-eight percent of likely voters favor each candidate in a head-to-head matchup. When the lens shifts to voters 50-plus, former President Trump takes an eight-point lead,

according to the poll. Fifty-three percent of older voters prefer Trump, while 45 percent favor Vice President Harris.  Among Black voters over 50, however, Harris takes a wide lead. Ninety

percent of voters in this demographic prefer Harris, while only 6 percent favor Trump.  “Black voters make up such a big part of the Georgia electorate that you have to look at it through

those two different lenses to really understand what’s going on,” says Bob Ward, a partner with Fabrizio Ward, part of a bipartisan polling team that conducted the AARP-commissioned survey.

AARP (Source: Getty Images) Fabrizio Ward and pollster Impact Research interviewed 1,254 likely Georgia voters from July 24 through July 31 about the presidential race and the issues

motivating them to vote. Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee Monday after an online vote by the party’s convention delegates. President Joe Biden announced July 21 he was

ending his reelection campaign, paving the way for Harris’ nomination. On Tuesday, she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Trump’s vice presidential pick is U.S. Sen. JD Vance

of Ohio.  When pollsters asked voters who they would support in a race between Harris, Trump and several third-party candidates, Trump had a slight edge over Harris. Forty-six percent would

cast their ballot for the former president and 44 percent would vote for Harris. Seven percent favor third-party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have not yet gained access

to the Georgia ballot. Three percent of likely voters remain undecided.   “Georgia voters ages 50 and older are the biggest voting bloc and could tip the scale for any candidate in this

election,” says Vanessa J. Payne, state director of AARP Georgia. “With the race so close, candidates would do well to focus on the issues that matter to older voters, such as protecting

Social Security and supporting family caregivers.”  Georgia is considered a battleground state in the 2024 presidential election.. In 2020, President Joe Biden won the state by just 0.25

percent — 12,670 votes. The candidate who prevails in Georgia this November will receive 16 electoral votes toward the 270 needed to win the presidency.