Michael Bloomberg is the only Democratic presidential candidate favored to win the White House over President Trump in a new poll of small business owners. Trump is favored above the other top Democratic contenders except for Joe Biden, with whom he is tied, according to a new poll by Gallup and payment processor Square Inc.
The poll shows that small business owners approve of Bloomberg over Trump, 52% to 48%. Trump is favored when competing against Democratic candidates Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Andrew Yang 51% to 49%. For Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Trump gets 52% of the support, compared to 48% for the other candidates.
Among independent small business owners, Bloomberg’s support over Trump increases, 57% to 43%. Independents would also choose Yang and Buttigieg, 53% and 51%, respectively, over Trump.
On election issues, 32% of small business owners say taxes are the biggest challenge to them, while 21% of respondents say government regulations are the primary issue. Only 20% said that healthcare is an issue.
On the economy, 33% of small business owners said that the U.S. trade tariffs had hurt their business in the last three years, and 27% say that tariffs have helped them. An overwhelming majority, 77%, say that current economic conditions are good, but 69% expect a recession to occur within the next 18 months.
The online survey was conducted between Jan. 15th and the 24th, with 1,234 small business owners participating in the poll.
