NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners are more undecided about the election than the general public.
That’s according to a new survey by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices. The group surveyed 1,259 small business owners from 47 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Washington, D.C.
The vast majority plan to vote, with 96% saying they will definitely or probably vote in November.
But 20% of small business owners say they’re undecided on who they plan to vote for for president. That compares to about 12% undecided among the general public.
According to the survey, 55% of small business owners say they think presidential candidates aren’t talking enough about issues that concern them, including inflation, small business tax policy, and the regulatory burden on small businesses.
“America’s small business owners today are experiencing operating costs that are increasingly unaffordable,” said Jessica Johnson-Cope, President of Johnson Security Bureau in The Bronx, New York. “As campaign season kicks off, small business owners want policymakers and candidates to focus on issues that improve the small business climate because small business is America’s future.”
Meanwhile, small business owners across the country say inflation is still weighing on their businesses. Seventy-one percent say inflationary pressures have increased on their businesses and 49% say they’ve had to raise the prices on their goods or services over the past three months.