PHOENIX (AP) — DeAnna Mireau reached into a container and pulled out a scrap of paper.
“Next, is there a drum roll?” she shouted into the room, which was filled with about two dozen elderly people and half a dozen journalists. “Justice! Justice for all.”
No one moved, so Mireau reached for another word. Next came “worker empowerment.” Then “nonsense.” When she finally shouted “people,” she had a winner.
“Biden bingo!” a still voice called from the middle of the room. A white-haired man extended his elbow and raised his fist triumphantly in the air. The room filled with applause.
That made 83-year-old Art Winter of Scottsdale, Arizona, the first winner in President Joe Biden’s latest attempt to win over older voters in his quest for a second term.
Biden is combining campaign staples like rallies and phone-ins with social events like bingo and pickleball to engage seniors in what is likely to be an extremely close election. Older people are more likely to vote than the average American, and many retirees have the free time to volunteer by knocking on doors or making phone calls.
Seniors also make up a disproportionate share of the population in several swing states, including Arizona, a popular retirement state. Biden narrowly defeated former President Donald Trump, who is again the likely Republican nominee this year, here in 2020 by less than 11,000 votes.
“Bingo and Biden – what a winning combination,” said Mireau, the game’s host, after it was over. Some of the bingo players stayed to chat or eat food provided by the campaign.
Mireau was hired as game manager because she lived in Las Vegas for nine years and has a lot of experience. She runs the bingo games at her trailer park in Phoenix.
“When people with similar views and similar goals come together, we can generate a lot more energy and that helps us get to the finish line,” said Mireau, who learned about the event through her involvement with the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, a left-leaning group made up largely of retired union members.
For his victory in “Biden Bingo,” Winter was able to choose between four prizes. His wife selected several books of crossword puzzles.
The game continued. Just a few draws later, “Biden Bingo” sounded again. Another triumphant fist in the air. Winter again. This time, his wife pulled out an envelope with a mysterious gift card. He put it aside, unopened.
“I’ve never won a grand prize,” he said, laughing at his table.
The game continued. More scraps of paper were pulled from the trash can: Election Day. Education. Veterans. Aviator sunglasses. Scranton. Medicare expansion.
Here Mireau interjected: “It will literally save lives, and it could be yours,” she said.
More snippets — and more references to Biden’s political persona, some funny, some grave: Amtrak train. Dr. Jill Biden. American jobs. Working families.
Not one, but two bingos were called—but this time not “Biden Bingo.” These winners had apparently forgotten the instruction to announce their victory with the president’s name, but no one enforced the rule.
Suddenly the prizes were gone, but the box was still full of Biden-themed scraps of paper. A campaign worker rushed to get more. She came back with a deck of cards and a few books of large-print word games.
The scraps of paper were based on excerpts from Biden’s biography and government priorities. As a US senator, he famously commuted to the Capitol by Amtrak train. On radiant days, he wears aviator sunglasses. And he has made “nonsense” a household word.
In the end there was only a diminutive piece left.
“Well-paying jobs,” said Mireau, and the room erupted in applause. Everyone had filled out their board.
And now the real action began. An energetic juvenile man came to the door and introduced himself as one of the campaign organizers who worked in this Democratic field office in an antique office building in downtown Phoenix. He handed out his own flyers – volunteer cards – and urged them to support the campaign by knocking on doors and calling other voters.
According to a recent AP-NORC poll, half of those over 65 have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Biden. Older adults are more likely to have a positive opinion of the president than those under 65.
While Biden’s approval ratings have declined during his time in office, they have fallen less sharply among those over 65. About half of those over 65 were satisfied with Biden’s performance as president, according to a March AP-NORC poll. That’s a slight decline from January 2021, when Biden took office, when about 6 in 10 adults over 65 were satisfied with his performance.
Only about a third of those under 65 were satisfied with Biden’s job performance in March; in January 2021, the figure was about 6 in 10.
In the 2020 election, Biden and Trump split voters who were 65 and older. AP VoteCast data shows that about half of voters who are 65 and older voted for Trump and about half for Biden. Biden won among women and non-white voters who were 65 and older, while Trump won older men and white voters in that age group.
A majority of Americans say they doubt the mental abilities of 81-year-old Biden and 77-year-old Trump. A large risk for Biden, however, is that independents are much more likely to say they have no confidence in his mental abilities (80%) than in Trump’s (56%).
Brenda Clarke, a 75-year-old retiree from Tempe, Arizona, said she gets furious when she hears her friends express doubts about Biden’s age and blames the media for stoking the concerns. She said Biden’s supporters need to remind people of his accomplishments.
“It’s up to us to keep calling people out when they try to spread this kind of thing,” Clarke said.
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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed.
