Small-Business Voters Up for Grabs

Mitt Romney talked with small-business owners at the Brewery Bar IV in Aurora, Colorado, on June 2011.

Image: John Moore/Getty Images

It’s a winter of discontent for small-business owners, at least when it comes to politics and the federal government.

A new survey by Manta, an online community for small businesses, found that 54 percent of small-business owners are dissatisfied with this year’s slate of presidential candidates. When asked which candidate was the biggest supporter of small businesses, 32 percent said President Barack Obama, 20 percent said Ron Paul, and 16 percent said Mitt Romney.

When asked who they plan to vote for, 34 percent said Obama, 17 percent said Romney, 14 percent said Paul, 10 percent said Rick Santorum, and 9 percent said Newt Gingrich. (The survey was conducted before Gingrich’s victory in the South Carolina primary.)

Just like the types of businesses they run, small-business owners are all over the map when it comes to their political opinions, it appears.

There’s also no consensus on what’s the biggest issue facing small businesses. Tax policy was named by 17 percent of small-business owners in the Manta survey, followed by 16 percent who said access to credit, 15 percent who said health care, and 15 percent who said unemployment.

Small-business owners, however, tend to be optimists—otherwise, they wouldn’t take the risk of starting their own businesses. So despite their dissatisfaction with Washington, 53 percent said they expect the outlook for small businesses will improve after the November election.

Jim Jansik, owner of Go Green Printing in Worthington, Ohio, said he’s “confident that as the election approaches, small business will rise in importance for politicians because we are a critical piece of the overall health and wellness of the U.S. economy.”

Entrepreneurs are particularly important for job creation. Most of them are small-business owners, but they’re not your typical Main Street business—they’re innovators who want to grow their ventures quickly. The Kauffman Foundation will do its part to raise awareness of entrepreneurs by running a public service announcement during the Super Bowl telecast. The commercial will run in the New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Kansas City media markets.

Meanwhile, small-business owners would benefit from tax reform that makes the tax code simpler and fairer, but that’s not going to happen this year. But Obama and his Republican opponents are talking a lot about this issue, and they’re presenting a clear choice to voters. In his State of the Union address, the president emphasized creating a tax system that treats people fairly. Republicans emphasize the need for the tax code to encourage economic growth.

Healthy debate on this issue “could put us in good stead at some point after the election, as far as actually getting some real tax reform,” said Todd McCracken, president and CEO of the National Small Business Association.