Campaign Polls

Americans care more about age than sexual orientation of presidential hopefuls: poll

American voters are more concerned by the age of a presidential hopeful than a candidate’s sexual orientation, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday. 

Poll results found that those surveyed were more likely to reject a candidate for their age if they were older than 70 than to reject a candidate who is gay, according to Reuters. 

The poll found 34 percent of respondents said they were less likely to vote for someone who is gay, while 48 percent said they were “much” or “somewhat” less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who was older than 70.

{mosads}President Trump, who was the oldest president ever elected and is seeking reelection, turns 73 next week. 

The Democratic primary features candidates spanning four decades in age, with front-runners Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden both on the high end at age 77. 

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, is among the youngest Democrats that has gained traction in seeking the nomination. Buttigieg is also the only openly gay candidate and is the first openly gay hopeful to make a serious bid for U.S. presidency. 

The national poll was conducted with the Williams Institute at UCLA ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a 1969 New York City riot which helped lead to the launch of the gay rights moment. 

The poll was conducted online nationwide from May 29-June 5 and gathered responses from 2,237 adults. The poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2 percentage points.