Economy and Healthcare Are Top Small Business Issues in 2020 Election

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new national election survey of small business owners shows Senator Bernie Sanders narrowing the gap on former Vice-President Joe Biden in the race for the Democrat Party nomination. The survey was conducted earlier this month by OnDeck® (NYSE: ONDK), the leader in online lending to small business, and shows Sanders at 12.7 percent, up from 8.7 percent in OnDeck's September 2019 presidential election survey. Biden remains in first place, but support among small business owners fell from 18 percent to 14.9 percent.

The small business survey results from OnDeck come as Iowa Democrats gather today for caucuses that kick off the nominating primaries that will choose the party's presidential nominee. In addition to the tightening battle between Biden and Sanders, former New York City Mayor and businessman Mike Bloomberg appears to be gaining favor among small business respondents, garnering 5.5 percent to nudge close to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is in third place at 6.1 percent.

Presidential Candidate Preference: OnDeck Small Business Survey - January 2020

Democratic Candidates – Top 5

Joe Biden – 14.9%

– 14.9% Bernie Sanders – 12.7%

– 12.7% Elizabeth Warren –6.1%

–6.1% Mike Bloomberg – 5.5%

– 5.5% Andrew Yang – 4.1%.

Republican Candidates

President Donald Trump – 40.7%

Overall, President Trump remains the preferred choice of the small business owner respondents, tallying 40.7 percent, up from 37 percent in September of 2019.

The OnDeck survey released today is the second in a series from the nation's largest online small business lender that focuses solely on small business owner preferences ahead of the 2020 Presidential election. Small businesses are a crucial and economically vital voting bloc, representing 99 percent of businesses in the United States and employing almost 60 million people, roughly half of the U.S. workforce.

Issues of Importance to Small Business Owners – January 2020

According to the OnDeck survey, the economy (14.9 percent) remains the top issue for small business owners, with health care (10.2 percent) moving up to second as an area of importance, replacing immigration (8.9 percent), which dropped to third.

Overall, 63 percent of small business respondents now feel optimistic about the outlook for the economy, up from 57 percent in OnDeck's survey last September.

OnDeck 2020 Election Survey Snapshots:

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