Las Vegas small businesses rate economy, ethics as top election issues

It's the economy, stupid.

James Carville's sage advice to then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton is just as relevant today as it was in 1992, and perhaps more so.

The George Washington University and Thumbtack.com Small Business Political Sentiment Survey on Friday showed 40 percent of business owners nationwide, and 29 percent in Las Vegas, rank the economy and jobs as the most important factor in choosing a president.

Ethics, honesty and corruption was second on the list with local small business owners at 14 percent, while "beating Romney, electing Obama, supporting the Democrats" was third with 13 percent, according to the 28-page survey.

"Small businesses are deeply attuned to the effect of politics on job creation and the economy," said David Rehr, a lead researcher on the study with the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, D.C. Rehr said business owners are "feeling squeezed" by the tight lending environment and are looking to curb the influence of money in politics.

Nationally, 39 percent of small businesses say that President Barack Obama is the most supportive candidate of small business, with 31 percent backing Republican Mitt Romney. With less than a month to Election Day on Nov. 6, 28 percent of businesses are still undecided, according to the survey.

Among businesses with five or fewer employees, Obama fared better than Romney, 48 percent to 37 percent. The opposite was true among businesses with five or more employees, with Romney earning 49 percent to the president's 39 percent among those registered and likely to vote.

The monthlong survey of 6,164 small business owners nationwide included bankruptcy attorneys, carpenters, dentists, and graphic designers. Small business owners in Nevada rate gasoline and fuel costs as the most burdensome cost to their businesses, more burdensome than even self-employment taxes or health care costs.

Fifty-five percent of Nevada small businesses said health care costs were very important to the success of their business, while 23 percent of small-business owners in the Silver State believe the president's health care policy helps their business.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.