South Carolina

Curveball: Older Voters in S.C. Swoon for Gingrich

Posted on 01/22/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

PoliticsThe first three Republican presidential primaries have split 1-1-1. Rick Santorum won Iowa (after the vote was certified), Mitt Romney won New Hampshire, and now Newt Gingrich has won South Carolina. More than six in 10 voters in Saturday’s primary were age 50 and older, and their support of Gingrich helped propel the former House Speaker to a stunning victory in the Palmetto State. Gingrich carried all 30-and-older age groups, including the oldest voters who had sided with Romney in …

Nailing Down the Candidates on Social Security, Medicare

Posted on 01/17/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

PoliticsWhere do the Republican candidates stand on Social Security and Medicare? The answer is important, because the next president — Democrat or Republican — will inherit the call for changes in those programs to whittle federal spending. On such controversial subjects, pinning down exactly where the candidates stand isn’t always easy. Newt Gingrich, for example, initially dismissed Rep. Paul Ryan’s dramatic reform proposals as “right-wing social engineering.” Months later Gingrich unveiled his own plan to revise what he called the …

Warning: Wrenching unemployment in the next primary states

Posted on 01/13/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

PoliticsThe Republican presidential race has moved away from states with relatively low unemployment – 5.7 percent in Iowa and 5.2 percent in New Hampshire – to states where the hunt for a job is a daily heartache, especially for older workers. Suck in your breath: South Carolina has 9.9 percent unemployment, Florida 10 percent and Nevada 13 percent. Those three states combined have shed more than 1 million jobs since 2008. But even those numbers may understate the problem. “A …