McCain has edge among older voters

WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- John McCain, who would be the oldest candidate elected president in U.S. history if he wins in November, has an advantage over Barack Obama with older voters.

The Pew Research Center surveyed 2004 adults in June and found McCain, the Arizona senator who is the presumptive Republican nominee, leads Obama 44 percent to 37 percent among voters who are at least 65, The Arizona Republic reports. The poll gave Obama, the Illinois senator who is the likely Democratic nominee, an 8-point advantage among all voters.

At 71, McCain has a quarter-century on the 46-year-old Obama, but Allan Saxe, a political scientist at the University of Texas, thinks older voters are not just identifying with someone from their generation.

"I think seniors this time would probably go with McCain above Obama. Generally speaking, they like a 'known' over an 'unknown.' They don't like change," Saxe said, pointing to McCain's more than 20 years in the Senate, while Obama is in his first term.

Older voters could be very helpful to McCain in a close race because they have higher turnout than any other age group. The three states with the largest percentage of senior citizens are also considered swing states, Florida, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.