Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg addresses a news conference after launching his presidential bid in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S., November 25, 2019.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
Mike Bloomberg is the only Democrat to top President Donald Trump in a Gallup poll of small business owners.
Fifty-two percent said they favored the former New York mayor in a hypothetical race against Trump, according to the poll by Gallup and payments-tech firm Square.
The poll, released Monday, was conducted Jan. 15 to 24, before the Iowa caucuses.
The survey asked respondents to indicate how Trump stacks up against seven top Democratic candidates: Bloomberg, former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Biden and Trump tied at 50%. Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Yang were at 49% against Trump’s 51%, while Warren and Sanders got 48% vs. Trump’s 52%.
Biden was the top choice for the Democratic nomination among survey participants who planned to vote in the primaries: 22% backed the former vice president.
Bloomberg was next with 17%, while Sanders and Warren had 14% and 13%, respectively. But 13% of respondents said they were undecided on their top choice among the seven Democrats.
Trump has high approval
Trump enjoys high approval ratings among small business owners. Sixty percent of those surveyed said they approved the job he was doing. A RealClearPolitics polling average pegs Trump’s general approval rating at 45.5%.
In the Gallup poll, 52% said their business would be better off if Trump won in November versus 41% for a Democratic victory.
Some small business owners in swing states interviewed by CNBC echoed the positive view of Trump.
Thomas Skiffington, owner of real estate firm Re/Max 440 in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, said Trump “has been extremely positive” for his business.
Trump’s administration “lightened up the regulations so people are spending more money, so they’re buying houses,” Skiffinton told CNBC. “They’re feeling comfortable with the housing market. In fact, if anything right now, there’s a storage of inventory; there’s more people who want to buy than houses on the market.”
Bill Jones, CEO of Solar Manufacturing in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, said Trump’s tax cuts were “marginally successful” for his business. He cited the investment tax credit as his “biggest advantage.” Jones’ company specializes in metallurgical heat treating and has 365 employees across five plants.
There are more than 30 million small businesses in the United States, according to a 2018 report from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Gallup said the poll’s respondents own a small business with annual revenue of $50,000 to $25 million.
The poll, which surveyed 1,234 small business owners over the web, found that 97% will likely vote in the 2020 election.
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