Candidates in the 19th Congressional District race will be part of a forum Tuesday afternoon in Dutchess County focusing on issues important to older voters.
AARP is sponsoring the forum to hear separately from Congressman Chris Gibson, a Republican, and Democrat Sean Eldridge. AARP officials say that in the 2010 midterm congressional elections, voters 50 and older went to the polls at nearly twice the rate of younger voters, accounting for 58 percent of all votes cast in New York State. AARP wants to ensure the voting group it says will decide the 19th Congressional District race sees and hears Gibson and Eldridge on such issues as Social Security, Medicare, and age discrimination. The forum at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck begins at 12:30. Each candidate has the floor for 45 minutes – Eldridge is first at 12:45 and Gibson at 1:45. The forum is open to AARP members only.