"It's a rematch that no one wants." — Yet, here we are, staring down a race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. AGAIN. Like many voters, I, too, wish we could wake up, and it was all just a dream, but everyone has to make a choice this November.
Inspired by one of the most divided election years in US history, I decided to ask different groups of voters across the country what their #1 political issue is AND which candidate they plan to support in November. I plan to highlight a new group of voters every week; welcome to BuzzFeed's 2024 Election Diaries!
Recently, I asked voters 60 and older to share their plans for the 2024 presidential election anonymously.
Here are 20 political confessions from senior voters revealing the issues they care about most and why they support their chosen candidate.
All voter images used are AI-generated.
1. "My top issue is women's rights. I'm not thrilled with either candidate because of age, but Trump makes me sick. He doesn't care about the country's well-being, only himself."
2. "My top issue is lowering taxes. I'm voting for RFK because Biden and Trump are both too old."
3. "My top issue is the southern border. I'm voting for Trump for his strength of character and ability to get the job done."
4. "I think we need to take money out of politics entirely. No lobbying, no donations, no fundraising. Zero corporate interest money. None. Nada. Zilch. I'm not sure who I'm voting for."
5. "My top issue is climate change. Republicans won't even acknowledge the existential threat of climate change, much less do anything to seriously address it despite all the potential money that can be made in mitigation."
6. "My top issue is the border, but I'm not happy with either of the main candidates. Maybe I'll vote libertarian."
7. "My top issue is stopping the influx of undocumented immigrants coming into the USA. I'm voting for Trump again because he made our country great. We were not in a recession, police were police, the economy was good, and prices were good."
8. "The climate is my top issue. I'm voting for Biden because his policies are more in line with my thoughts, plus he is future-oriented rather than determined to turn the clock back to the past like Trump."
9. "My top issue is abortion. The Democratic Party needs to fix women's healthcare rights and accessibility."
10. "My top issue is stopping undocumented immigrants from invading our country. I'm voting for Trump because I can't take another four years of 'Bidenomics.'"
11. "My top issue is having members of Congress who actually make and pass policy as opposed to being concerned with social media hits. I'm voting for Biden because he has never asked his followers to overthrow OUR government!"
12. "Inflation and the rise of socialism are the most important issues to me. I'm voting for RFK because the two major party candidates are both poor choices, and I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils."
13. "The most important issue to me is the border, so I'm voting for Trump because he's not Biden."
14. "My top issue is the stability of leadership. I'm voting for Biden because the other candidate is mentally unstable."
15. "My top issue is avoiding authoritarian rule. I'm voting for Biden because he has been surprisingly effective, and I agree with him on almost every issue (except the genocide in Gaza). I also believe that our VP would continue governing in much the same way."
16. "The size and reach of the Federal government is my top issue. I'm voting for Trump for his promise to reduce the size of government and his record of reducing regulations."
17. "My healthcare and social security are very important, but my number one issue is always a woman's reproductive freedom. ALWAYS."
18. "Social security. It's sad to see all of the spending on so many other projects and that social security is not getting properly funded to make sure that we're taken care of in our older years."
19. "My top issue is having a government that can function on a bipartisan level for the common good. I'm voting for Biden to maintain our status in the global community, protect us from abuse of power, and get important progress made instead of fighting culture wars."
And finally...
20. "My top issue is getting the US government to stop spending money. Both candidates seem to be incompetent, terrible, and polarizing. We need a candidate from the center."
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Next week, we'll focus on voters living in critical swing states in the 2024 presidential election. So, if you're an Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, or Wisconsin resident, we want to hear from you via this anonymous Google form. Your response may be featured in an upcoming post!
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.