General

Romney losing support of American seniors

While it’s no surprise that Romney’s support has taken a hit in the wake of last week’s 47 per cent controversy, recent polls suggest that the Republican nominee is losing the support of American seniors—a vital base that Romney will need to win swing states like Florida in November, Reuters reports.

New polling by Reuters/Ipsos indicates that Romney’s support among Americans age 60 and older shrink from a 20-point to a 4-point lead over President Obama.

Although the numbers could still change before the election in November, Romney’s decision to make Medicare a central issue in his campaign seems to be working out differently than the Republicans had planned. Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, put forward a budget in the House of Representatives that would have cut a number of government entitlements for seniors and turned Medicare, a health-care system for retired and disabled Americans, from one of universal coverage to a single stipend. The suggestion is not sitting well with older Americans, and Ryan was booed at a recent AARP gathering when he said he would end Obamacare. AARP is a grassroots lobby group representing Americans over the age of 50 and has over 37 million members.

Analysts say that Romney must have the majority of older voters, who vote in high numbers and historically have been reliably Republican, if he wants to win on November 6.

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