Small Business Owners Losing Faith In Presidential Candidates

With declining faith in the current crop of presidential candidates, small business owners surveyed expressed nostalgia for a past U.S. president they deemed a friend to small business: Ronald Reagan. The 40^th President was overwhelmingly selected by more than four in ten small business owners (42 percent) as the best president for small business, trailed by Bill Clinton (17 percent) and President Barack Obama (14 percent). For more top findings, see OnDeck's Small Business and the Election infographic:

Navigating an Uncertain Political Climate
According to the OnDeck survey, small business owners are looking to candidates this election season to address three critical issues: economic growth (67 percent), tax policy (46 percent) and healthcare costs (35 percent).  In order to help small businesses in the near term, some respondents would like to see the federal government cut taxes (36 percent), reduce healthcare costs (19 percent), invest in infrastructure improvement (13 percent), and cease increases in the minimum wage (13 percent).

"Small business owners are keenly interested in this year's presidential election as they grapple with some big issues tied to economic growth and health care costs," said James Hobson, Chief Operating Officer at OnDeck. "Given their active participation in past presidential elections, candidates would be wise to engage this vast voting constituency of 28 million small business owners."

Small Business Owners Get Out the Vote 
The OnDeck survey indicates that as a population, small business owners are actively engaged in the electoral process. In fact, nine in 10 business owners say they voted in the last presidential election. Nearly all small business owner respondents (95 percent) are registered voters, three in 10 made a donation to a Democrat or Republican candidate in the last election and a quarter have already made a political donation during this primary election season.

When asked to select the presidential contender who they think has the best interests of small business in mind, Donald Trump (37 percent), Bernie Sanders (28 percent), and Hillary Clinton (16 percent) topped the list.

Survey Methodology
This survey of 531 small business owners was conducted online via Facebook between February 29 and March 14, 2016.

About OnDeck
OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) is the leader in online small business lending. Since 2007, the company has powered Main Street's growth through advanced lending technology and a constant dedication to customer service. OnDeck's proprietary credit scoring system – the OnDeck Score® – leverages advanced analytics, enabling OnDeck to make real-time lending decisions and deliver capital to small businesses in as little as 24 hours. OnDeck offers business owners a complete financing solution, including the online lending industry's widest range of term loans and lines of credit. To date, the company has deployed over $4 billion to more than 45,000 customers in 700 different industries across the United States, Canada and Australia. OnDeck has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and operates the educational small business financing website www.businessloans.com. For more information, please visit www.ondeck.com.

Contact:
Alexis Ganz
Bliss Integrated Communication
(646) 386-2920
[email protected]

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SOURCE On Deck Capital, Inc.