The latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey finds that half of small-business owners say the outcome of the presidential election will have a major impact on their small business. At the same time, fewer than three in 10 (28%) say the presidential candidates are discussing the issues most important to them as small-business owners.

Small-Business Owners and the Presidential Election

Would you say that the outcome of this year's presidential election -- that is, who wins in November -- will have a major impact, a minor impact or not much impact at all on your small business?

Small-Business Owners and the Presidential Election

As far as you are concerned, are the presidential candidates discussing the issues most important to you as a small-business owner, or not?

These results are based on interviews conducted April 4-8 as part of the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, with a special focus on the ways in which small-business owners view the presidential election, the candidates and the issues.

In addition to the 50% who say the election will have a major impact on their small business, another 23% say it will have a minor impact, leaving 23% who say it will have not much impact at all. The 28% who say that the candidates are discussing the issues most important to them as a small-business owner is much lower than the 58% of national adults in a Gallup Poll who were asked a similar question in mid-April about the issues most important to them.

Business owners are paying especially close attention to the election. A total of 87% of owners say they are following the election either "very closely" (56%) or "somewhat closely" (31%), higher than what Gallup typically finds among national adults.

In addition to the widely held belief that the candidates are not focusing enough on the issues important to them, small-business owners are also split on how well they comprehend the candidates' positions. Overall, 79% of small-business owners say they understand the candidates' positions on issues that would affect small businesses "extremely," "very" or "somewhat" well -- although only 47% put their level of understanding in the first two of these categories.

These findings suggest that small-business owners are keenly interested in the election, and a significant number believe that the election outcome will have a direct bearing on their business. However, the prevailing sentiment is that candidates are not adequately focused on the issues small-business owners think are most important.

The Most Important Campaign Issues for Small-Business Owners

Given the conviction of many small-business owners that the candidates are not talking about the issues that are most important to them, the question becomes one of ascertaining exactly what those specific issues are. To that end, the survey included an open-ended question asking owners to name the issues they would like candidates to focus on in the campaign. The results, displayed in the accompanying table, show that owners would most like the candidates to address how they would handle taxes that affect small businesses. Owners' next-most frequently mentioned issues are the economy, healthcare and jobs, followed by the impact of government regulations, and the desire for a general focus on small-business owners.

Owners were also asked in a separate sequence of questions to rate the importance of 15 specific issues to their small business when the new president -- whoever he or she should be -- takes office.

The percentage of those rating the issues as "extremely" or "very" important ranged from 83% for issues relating to the small-business implications of the tax code, tax regulations and tax rates, to 40% for the president's actions relating to environmental regulations and climate change.

Issues rated as extremely or very important by two-thirds or more of small-business owners, in addition to taxes, include economic policies relating to small businesses, healthcare, actions that would increase consumer confidence and terrorism/national security. In addition to climate change, other issues at the low end of the ranking included presidential actions relating to the Small Business Administration, the minimum wage and education.

From http://www.gallup.com/poll/191336/small-business-owners-say-candidates-fail-address-issues.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication