LAS VEGAS — Multiple Nevada Democrats expressed concern over President Joe Biden‘s age, even as they delivered the 81-year-old president’s second primary win of the 2024 cycle.
Numerous Democratic voters in the state voiced concerns in interviews with the Washington Examiner about the president’s age, while a couple pushed back on the topic. Multiple voters also cited their civic duty — not necessarily an overwhelming commitment to Biden — as a reason for voting in the primary.
“I think they’re both too old to be president,” Chris Forbes, who voted for the president, said of Biden and former President Donald Trump, 81 and 77, respectively. “It’s a laughingstock internationally that our democratic process generates candidates who should be in retirement rather than running for president.”
“I prefer to see young people — younger people vote, running for election,” said Lenore Cohen, a Nevada voter who expressed concern over both Biden’s and Trump’s ages.
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Another voter, Sheila Thompson, went as far as to say she thinks no one over 70 years old should serve as president, House representative, or senator.
However, she did vote for Biden. “Since I’m an older black woman, let’s see,” she joked. Thompson said her choice to turn out was motivated by Trump, who she believes “is such a danger to America.”
Author Sean Doyle agreed with Thompson’s assessment of age, explaining, “I don’t like how old either of them are. I don’t like how old a lot of people in our government are.”
Biden received the bulk of Democratic votes in the state’s primary, with 98,358 ballots for the president with 88% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press. His share of votes amounted to 89.3% in the largely uncontested primary.
Still, voters’ concerns over the incumbent president’s age reflect a larger problem for Biden as he heads into a likely rematch with Trump because it is one aspect of his reelection he cannot change.
Biden voter Brittany Dupree said she sees moments in which Biden speaks and thinks he is “old, maybe not as sharp.” However, she said she would rather have a “decent human being” rather than Trump, who is both old and “definitely mentally ill.”
In an NBC News poll released on Tuesday, a total of 76% of respondents reported that Biden “not having the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term” was a major or moderate concern for them.
As for Virginia Kean, who no longer works due to a permanent disability, the advanced age of Biden and Trump has, in part, fueled her decision to switch parties after the 2024 election. “I will be going third party. I’ve lost complete faith in the Democratic Party,” she said.
However, not everyone saw age as a problem.
“It kind of smacks of ageism to me,” teacher Constance Karalias said. “Personally, I think the older they are, the more experience that they seem to demonstrate and show, and I think about Warren Buffett, for example.”
Buffett, the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is notably 93 years old.
Of her vote for Biden, Karalias said she wasn’t concerned about his cognitive ability, adding, “I would like to have him in my corner.”
Retired grandmother Beverly McConico also criticized concerns over Biden’s age, saying, “Every one of them in the Congress is old.”
“Everybody is old there. So, if they want to talk about age on Biden, then all of them need to go, too,” she said.
Meanwhile, some voters who cast their ballots Tuesday did so because they wanted to participate in the primary process.
“I’m 75 years old, and I’ve been voting since I was 18,” said Craig Woods, a black man, “because of my obligation to my ancestors who created this opportunity for all of us to vote in this country.”
McConico echoed this sentiment, asking, “Why would I let them down? They fought — they died for the right for my people to vote.”
Dupree noted voting is a privilege. “People that look like me didn’t always get to vote, and I take that very seriously,” she said.
In 2020, Biden defeated Trump in the battleground state of Nevada by less than 3 points.
And the narrow margin in which Biden won the Silver State means that it is likely to play a pivotal role in the 2024 election as well. Nevada is unique in that it is a majority-minority state, and Hispanics and Latinos notably make up nearly a third of its population. Nevada also boasts a significant union worker population.
Biden is hoping to shore up support from these groups for his reelection bid because they are considered a key part of his base. But he could face an obstacle in Trump, who has incrementally seen upticks in minority support, particularly those without college degrees.
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The former president has also taken note of the changing Republican base, which includes a growing worker and union member population, specifically courting them on the campaign trail and even meeting with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters twice last month.
In a recent general election poll of Nevada last month, Trump won the state 48% to Biden’s 40%, suggesting Biden could be in trouble.
