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

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

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 and shows Sanders at 12.7%, up from 8.7% in OnDeck’s September 2019 presidential election survey.  Biden remains in first place, but support among small business owners fell from 18% to 14.9%.

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% to nudge close to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is in third place at 6.1%.

Presidential Candidate Preference:

Democratic Candidates – Top 5

• Joe Biden – 14.9%
• Bernie Sanders – 12.7%
• Elizabeth Warren –6.1%
• Mike Bloomberg – 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%, up from 37% 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% of businesses in the United States and employing almost 60 million people, roughly half of the U.S. workforce.

The OnDeck survey of 716 small business owners was conducted from January 6 to January 15, 2020 and included respondents in all 50 states and from a diverse set of industries. The margin of error was 3.66%.