'That's my problem:' Local seniors express concerns about election choices

Albuquerque residents John Garcia, 62, and Ike Johnson, 70, said they are worried about the upcoming presidential election amid national concerns about one of the candidates’ health.

“That debate that (President Joe) Biden did, that destroyed him in a big way,” Johnson said while waiting for his turn to shoot pool against Garcia at the Palo Duro Senior Center on Thursday afternoon.

Biden’s meandering comments and loss of train of thought, particularly during his presidential debate last month against presumptive Republican opponent Donald Trump, fueled concerns from people, even in his own Democratic Party, that he may not be able to defeat Trump in the general election or lead the country for another four years.

According to a July 11 Pew Research Center article, about 24% of voters say the phrase “mentally sharp” describes Biden, 81, “very or fairly well,” while 58% describe Trump, 78, as mentally sharp.

“Candidates often use debates to connect with the public and reinforce their positive characteristics,” said Jessica Feezell, University of New Mexico Department of Political Science associate professor, in an email. “A poor debate performance, widely covered by the media, can have lasting negative effects on voter perceptions.

“However, it is important to remember that these perceptions are often less influential than party identification and candidates’ positions on key issues in predicting voter behavior.”

Johnson said people should not consider a candidate’s age when they vote.

“To me, four more years ain’t going to hurt him,” he said. “I believe he can handle four more years.”

Garcia replied to Johnson’s assessment: “You’re on drugs.”

Garcia added that he does not have an issue with a president being in their 70s or 80s “if you have all your faculties.”

“But I don’t believe that Biden does. That’s my problem.”

Days after the June 27 debate, political opponents and even some of Biden’s supporters suggested he be given an independent cognitive test.

The test is a brief screening tool, a 10-minute series of questions to assess different brain functions, according to The Associated Press.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, people who should be tested for cognitive impairment are those with memory concerns or other cognitive complaints. Non-memory triggers include personality change, depression, deterioration of chronic disease without explanation, and falls or balance issues.

Alzheimer’s Association spokesman Jim Herlihy declined to speak about either candidate, but said, in general, the greatest risk factor for dementia is age.

Herlihy said the percentage of people with Alzheimer’s dementia increases with age by 5% for people 65-74, 13.2% for those 75-84 and 33.4% for people age 85 and older.

Mac Rodriguez, who was at the North Valley Senior Center, said politicians should have age limits, regardless.

“These people tend to get in power (then) just don’t want to give it up,” the 84-year-old said.

There’s nothing wrong with younger people; they are smart, too, Rodriguez said.

Biden has said as recently as this week that he plans to remain in the race despite some people in his party suggesting that he step aside so someone else could be nominated.

Garcia said he thinks Biden will step down some time in the next couple of weeks.

“What scares me is that I don’t really even know who is making the decisions right now,” he said. “It almost feels like Biden has somebody telling him what to say and do every time just to protect him from himself.”

Myra Banks, 81, who said she will vote for Trump, added that Biden “needs to be out of there.”

Feezell said candidate characteristics, including competence, leadership and honesty, are very important to voters’ decisions on whom to vote for and whether to vote at all. The primary factor influencing voting behavior is party identification.

“However, issue positions and candidate characteristics are also significant predictors,” she said. “For low-information voters, those not deeply politically engaged, and first-time voters, candidate characteristics provide crucial cues that guide their decisions.”

‘You got to make one’

Garcia said he is not a fan of either Trump or Biden.

“I’m Republican, but I don’t like my candidate,” he added. “Nobody does, it seems. But right now, it seems like a ‘lesser of the two evils.’ I don’t know what the lesser is, right now.

“If I have to choose between a guy who’s a jerk, which is Trump, but at least he still has his faculties, I think I will probably vote for him even though I don’t want to. I really don’t.”

After Garcia took another pool shot, he and Johnson pondered what they will do come November.

“The fact of the matter is, you only (have) two candidates and whether you like them or not, one of them is going to be in there,” Johnson said.

“Even though you don’t like the choices,” Garcia said.

Johnson pointed out: “You got to make one.”