WASHINGTON, June 13 — Voters over age 50 in the key battleground state of Arizona strongly favour Donald Trump in November’s election rematch, a new poll from the US’s largest organisation for older Americans shows, highlighting a potential new weakness in Democrat Joe Biden’s support.

Arizona voters overall favour Republican Trump over Biden by 45 per cent to 37 per cent, with 11 per cent of support going to independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) poll released yesterday shows.

Trump’s lead is greatest among voters ages 50 and older, at 49 per cent to 39 per cent, the poll shows, showing a fresh weakness for Biden, whose support among voters without college degrees, young voters and Black voters has dropped since 2020. Among women voters only age 50 and older, Biden is tied in Arizona, the AARP poll shows.

Exit polls by NBC News after the 2020 election showed Arizona voters over 50 favoured Trump by a margin of 52 per cent to 47 per cent for Biden; CNN exit polls showed Arizona voters aged 50 to 64 favoured Trump 55 per cent to 45 per cent, while those over 65 favoured him by just 50 per cent to 49 per cent.

Biden won Arizona by less than 11,000 votes in 2020.

Biden’s weakness in the AARP poll isn’t reflective of a broader party split. Arizona voters overall favour Democrat Ruben Gallego over Republican Kari Lake 48 per cent to 45 per cent in the state’s race for a US Senate seat, while the two candidates are tied with over-50s.

On Thursday, Biden’s campaign kicks off "Seniors for Biden-Harris” in Arizona with bingo events in Arizona. First lady Jill Biden is traveling to Arizona on Saturday to speak to seniors.

Biden has lowered costs for insulin and other prescription drugs, passed rules that make hearing aids cheaper, and pledged to protect funding for Social Security, the US government pension program.

In March, the Biden campaign said it would attack Trump over Republican threats to cut Social Security and Medicare in the key states of Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with an advertising campaign and several press conferences. — Reuters