'Seniors for Buttigieg': Why voters twice his age feel drawn to the millennial mayor [View all]

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'Seniors for Buttigieg': Why voters twice his age feel drawn to the millennial mayor
By Dan Merica, CNN
Updated 11:25 AM ET, Sat May 25, 2019
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Des Moines, Iowa (CNN)When Barbara Paulding was 44 years old, Joe Biden had been a member of the United States Senate from Delaware for more than a decade -- and Pete Buttigieg was about to be born.

Despite being only 37 years old, the latter -- a gay, veteran mayor from South Bend, Indiana, who is running for president in 2020 -- wowed the now 81-year-old Paulding after he spoke in a low-slung union hall here in Des Moines.

Paulding represents a growing number of senior citizens who have rallied around Buttigieg because of -- not in spite of -- his age. And she said after Buttigieg's speech that her support of the millennial mayor over the 76-year-old former vice president Biden or 77-year-old Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders does not feel abnormal.
A recent CNN poll found that 22% of people 65 and older have a favorable opinion of Buttigieg, compared to 16% for voters under 34. And a recent Suffolk University poll in New Hampshire found more voters older than 65 said they would back the Indiana Democrat if the primary was today than voters younger than 50.

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'A generational alliance'

Paulding is not unique.

As Buttigieg has risen in popularity, the faces in his growing crowds have not been solely dotted with young people who see the South Bend, Indiana, mayor as a member of their generational cohort. Instead, Buttigieg has seen a steady growth in support from senior citizens, with polls showing that the age group is, in some cases, more fervent in their Buttigieg support than voters closer to the mayor's age.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/25/politics/seniors-for-pete-buttigieg/index.html