Message to Haley: Seniors Vote in Large Numbers

Nikki Haley, R-S.C., needs some new advisers and fast.

For the few who haven’t heard, Haley, a former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, recently announced her intention to seek the Republican nomination for president.

At her campaign launch, Haley called for, among other things, term limits for members of Congress. But that’s not what made headlines.

Haley, 51, expressed a need for “mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old,” telling her supporters it was time to put trust “in a new generation.”

To be fair, Haley is a long shot to win the GOP’s nod. With former President Donald Trump already in the race and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., likely to enter at a later date, most pundits expect the race to be a slugfest between the two heavyweights.

While Haley will likely come up short in the end, she could make the most of her time as a candidate, putting herself in a prime position to become the eventual nominee’s running mate.

However, if she wants any shot at remaining in the race past the first handful of contests or becoming an eventual VP nominee, she needs to understand a cardinal rule of GOP primaries: Seniors vote in large numbers.

And a large chunk of those voters happen to over 75. In the 2016 Iowa GOP caucuses, voters over the age of 65 made up over a quarter of the electorate, the second largest voting group after those ages 45 to 64.

It was the same case in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, and several other states early in the primary calendar.

Building a winning coalition involves adding, not subtracting, factions of all stripes. And older voters happen to be some of the most reliable supporters in a winning GOP coalition.

But it’s more than just effective campaigning. Haley should recognize that there are plenty of examples of “elder” politicians serving commendably well into their 70s and 80s!

What about former President Ronald Reagan? Should the Gipper have called it quits when he turned 75, even though he had nearly two years left in his second term?

In those two years, Reagan would oversee the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from their occupation in Afghanistan, make his famous “tear down this wall” speech in Berlin, and effectively lay the groundwork that ultimately helped bring about the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Then there’s Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. As former Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley played a vital role in reshaping America’s courts with originalists during the Trump administration.

Most importantly, Grassley helped get Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh lifetime appointments on the U.S. Supreme Court. At the time of Kavanaugh’s nomination, Grassley was 85.

What about Gov. Kay Ivey, R-Ala.? Consistently ranked one of America’s most popular governors at 78 years old, Ivey has helped put Alabama on a path to sustainable economic growth.

Now in her second term, Ivey’s administration has created 65,000 new jobs, attracted over $32 billion in new business investment, and delivered one of the lowest unemployment levels registered in Alabama’s history.

Heck, one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, was 70 when he signed the Declaration of Independence!

During his long stay in France over the course of the Revolutionary War, Franklin was instrumental in securing a military alliance with the French and in conducting peace negotiations with the British, the latter at age 77.

Interesting to note that Franklin, who helped write the Constitution, did not feel it necessary to include an upper age limit on eligibility for the presidency. Rather, he and the Founding Fathers only included a lower one.

This isn’t to say that age should be off limits in a campaign. It is absolutely fair game, and older candidates should be prepared for such scrutiny.

But rather than judging a candidate by their age, I would hope that voters would base their preferences on past accomplishments and standpoints on various issues.

All members of “The Squad” are well under the age of 75, but the last thing I (or any sane person for that matter) wants is a Congress full of members who believe in absurd policies like the Green New Deal or defunding law enforcement.

I agree with Haley that most politicians in Washington need to be replaced. But instead of targeting those over 75, I’d be willing to call for all members of Congress to take a mental competency exam.

Now that’s something Haley could use to unite GOP primary voters of all ages!