Some of those old ladies may be thinking they are voting for the Democrat party of JFK or Hubert Humphrey. Or even Jimmy Carter.
Not everyone follows politics or the political party stands on issues very closely. Some of these ladies may be thinking they’ve always voted Democrat, so they should always vote Democrat.
If Joe Biden gets crushed in the election, they would see that they’ve gone too far left and they may run a moderate candidate in 2024. McGovern was leftist but got trounced in ‘72. So you saw Democrats win with Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Southern Democrats.