by Mary Stroka
Nearly 70 percent of Minnesota small business owners said in a survey that it’s best for business if Republicans control Congress.
Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 2, Alignable asked 4,795 randomly selected U.S.-based business owners “What outcome to the November midterm elections would benefit your business the most?”
Alignable Head of Research, Corporate Communications and News Chuck Casto told The Center Square Thursday that the national survey included 367 Minnesota businesses.
Sixty-nine percent of Minnesota-based small businesses said it’s best if both houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans, he said. Sixteen percent said Democrats should have control of both houses. Six percent wanted split control, and 9 percent said none of those options would be best.
More than half of surveyed business owners (57 percent) said elected politicians in Minnesota aren’t doing a great job at all for their businesses. Eleven percent chose the survey response “No, they say they care but they don’t act like they do.” Another 11 percent said elected politicians have helped and 5 percent said elected officials are terrific. The remainder said “other” (11 percent) or that it’s hard to tell (5 percent).
Three-fourths of the businesses said they disapproved of senators, while 14 percent said they didn’t approve or disapprove and 11 percent percent said they approve of the officials.
Federal officials received slightly more support among Minnesota small businesses. The approval rating was 14 percent. Disapproval was 72 percent. The remainder neither approved or disapproved.
One-third of Minnesota small businesses said they don’t have a party affiliation while 28 percent said they’re Republican. Seventeen percent said didn’t want to disclose party. Fourteen percent were Independent and 6 percent were Democrat.
“What’s most interesting here is that your non-committed voters among MN-based SMBs are really the majority (64 percent) – so they’re swing voters, which will make predicting the outcomes of these elections even harder,” Casto said. “But, in general, the reactions from MN-based SMBs, for the most part, expressed disappointment over the state of the economy and fears of recession.”
Business owners in Michigan were less likely to report they wanted Republican control of both houses. Sixty-three percent said they supported Republican control of the legislative branch, while 27 percent said they wanted Democrats to control Congress.
Nationally, more small business owners identified as Republicans (35 percent) compared with Minnesota business owners, but a lesser portion (62 percent) said they wanted a Republican-controlled Congress for the sake of business.
Business owners in manufacturing (86 percent), agriculture (80 percent) and transportation (78 percent) were the most likely to support a Republican-controlled Congress. Half of nonprofits and 54 percent of photographers favor a Democrat-controlled Congress. Pennsylvania (77 percent), Ohio (76 percent) and Virginia (73 percent) small businesses were the most likely to say they favored a Republican-ruled Congress.
Roughly 55 percent of U.S. business owners said that elected officials haven’t done a great job for their small businesses. About one in four small businesses have fully recovered since the beginning of the pandemic, down from 43 percent in December 2021. One-third of businesses said that if their revenues don’t increase in November and December, they may need to close their businesses before 2023. Thirty-seven percent of U.S. small businesses told Alignable in October that they couldn’t pay rent last month. Most said high inflation was the biggest challenge.
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Mary Stroka is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Barber Shop” by Thgusstavo Santana.
