Elderly people are just as mixed politically as any other age group or demographic.
Some vote Republican because they think "so and so is gonna fix things" or "get tough on crime" or whatever while others vote Democrat because they think that "so and so is gonna expand Medicare" or "increase Social Security" or whatever. In fact, in my experience, elderly people seem to be just as much or even more dependent on Nanny-State politics than most any other age group.
As for Florida, that's another mixed bag. If anyone had said 40 years ago that the South would vote strongly for Lincoln's Republicans, they would have been laughed at. But the parties are a strange thing nowadays, and the Southern Dems went and started the Welfare system, while the Republicans got the support of the Fundamentalists.
So, historically, Florida has tended to be Democrat, but it's current make-up is strongly torn between its (mostly) non-native Jewish population, which tends to live in the big cities and vote Democrat, and the native football-playin' Southern hicks, who tend to live in rural or suburban areas and vote Republican.
For you and your friend: the 2000 election proved that the biggest demographic factor in whether a person nowadays will vote Republican or Democrat is where they live. People who live in larger cities and closer to urban cores tend to vote Democrat. People who live in small towns, rural areas, or outlying suburban areas tend to vote Republican. No other factor seems to carry as much importance, not even age, income, race, or gender. Now whether that holds true in today's elections remains to be seen.
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