‘Baby boomers are doing the heavy lifting’: Biden’s campaign seeks to build on older voters’ support

Grand Rapids, Michigan CNN —

Gussie Farris, 86, spends no time worrying about the ages of the oldest presidential candidates in American history. For those who do, this loyal supporter of President Joe Biden has sharp words about Donald Trump.

“Because Trump is big and loud, he doesn’t come off as old as maybe Biden does, but he’s way less capable in the brain area,” Farris said with a laugh, breaking a self-made rule about saying the former president’s name aloud.

Farris exemplifies a trend Biden’s campaign is seeking to build on: strong performance among seniors — a group that polls show spends more time watching local and national news, thinks more about the 2024 election, and was alive in the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War, a period Biden has attempted to tap into as he casts Trump as a threat to democracy.

National and swing-state polls have shown Biden facing steep challenges winning over younger and non-White voters — constituencies that make up a key part of the Democratic coalition. But he’s made gains among older voters, a group typically won handily by Republicans. It’s a prized slice of the electorate, with high turnout rates and outsized sway in several key battleground states.

Biden’s campaign this week launched a new effort to court seniors — one it said will combine traditional organizing tactics like phone-banking and postcards with events like bingo nights and pickleball. His campaign touted endorsements from several groups focused on protecting Social Security, Medicare and pensions, and dispatched surrogates across the country to speak with senior groups.

First lady Jill Biden, who traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Thursday as part of the initiative’s launch, pushed back on