Listen to this article:Over the centuries, politicians have tried numerous tactics to win over voters and some of them are truly imaginative. In the US, President Biden is in the middle of his re-election campaign and in addition to traditional techniques, such as rallies and phone banks. Surprisingly, President Biden turned to social events, including bingo, to try to involve senior citizens.
Seniors are a key demographic in the election. Not only are they more likely to vote, but they also have more free time to help with campaigns. Furthermore, in a number of swing states, such as Arizona, retirees make up a significant proportion of the population.
Recently, DeAnna Mireau ran a Biden Bingo game in Arizona. Cards were marked with phrases such as “worker empowerment”, “malarkey,” and “folks”, and the game was won by 83-year-old Art Winter from Scottsdale, Arizona.
After the game, a number of players stayed behind to chat and enjoy some food provided by the campaign. Mireau is highly qualified for the job of bingo caller, having lived in Las Vegas for nine years and currently running bingo games in her mobile home park in Phoenix. Speaking of Vegas and the thrill of bingo, we recently shared Adelle’s choice of bingo for post Vegas relaxation, so it is no surprise how many people share love for this game.
She believes that by bringing together similar minded people, they can help breathe energy into the campaign. As for the first winner, he was offered the choice of four prizes and his wife chose a number of crossword puzzle books. Incidentally, to everyone’s surprise, Winter went on to win the second game of the evening and his wife chose an envelope containing a mystery gift card.
As the evening progressed, several other themes were explored on the cards, such as election day, education, veterans, aviator sunglasses, Medicare, Amtrak train, Dr Jill Biden, American jobs, working families, and so on.
When the bingo finally came to an end, one of the campaign organisers took to the stage, handed out volunteer cards to the players, and called on them to become involved in the campaign by knocking on doors and phoning other voters.
A recent poll conducted by AP-NORC found that half of those aged 65 and above have a very or somewhat favourable view of President Biden and are more likely than those under 65 to have a positive opinion of the president.
It is no secret that President Biden’s approval ratings have been falling over the last few years. However, the rating has remained more consistent among those aged 65 and above. Roughly half of the demographic approved of President Biden’s performance when asked in an AP-NORC poll in March. It was only slightly down from January 2021, when President Biden assumed office when roughly 60% of the demographic approved of his performance.
Only about one-third of those under 65 approved of Biden’s job performance in March, down from roughly 60% in January 2021.
In the 2020 election, Biden and Trump equally split voters aged 65 and older. Data from AP VoteCast indicates that about half of these voters chose Trump, and half chose Biden. Biden found more support among women and non-white voters in this age group, while Trump was favoured by older men and white voters.
Many Americans doubt the mental capabilities of the 81-year-old Biden and the 78-year-old Trump. This is a significant risk for Biden, as independents are more likely to lack confidence in his mental abilities (80%) compared to Trump’s (56%).
Brenda Clarke, a 75-year-old retiree in Tempe, Arizona, expressed her frustration when her friends doubt Biden’s age and blames the media for increasing these concerns. She believes Biden’s supporters should focus on highlighting his achievements.
If the President is eager to appeal to a younger demographic and change their opinion of him, maybe Biden should be running online bingo events rather than social gatherings for retirees.
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