The 2024 election is close and businesses outlining their priorities

As the 2024 election cycle is entering the home stretch, a pair of recent studies point to the priorities that will be on business leaders’ minds as they cast their votes.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife released their third quarter Small Business Index survey results, in which 71% of small business owners reported they are more interested in this year’s election compared to 2020, with 42% saying they are “much more” interested this cycle.

Respondents were very clear on what issues are top of mind, with 78% of small business owners saying that the economy and inflation should be the top priority for the next president and Congress.

The report noted the latest results show a 21% jump in respondents citing the economy as their first or second top priority from the same quarter in 2020.

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Tom Sullivan, vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber, said Business inflation has topped the list of small business concerns in the Small Business Index for nearly three years, and offered his own explanation for why small business owners are indicating a heightened interest in this year’s election. 

“Small business owners feel their ongoing headache of high prices and high costs has not been addressed,” Sullivan told FOX Business. “They are frustrated over the partisan gridlock, despite insisting that candidates focus on the economy, and that has raised the stakes for small businesses in this election.”

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Finance chiefs for larger U.S. companies with $1 billion or more in revenue expressed similar sentiments in another survey released last week.

Deloitte’s CFO Signals survey for the fourth quarter showed the top external risk cited by respondents was inflation, at 57%, followed by the economy as a whole, at 54%.

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Steve Gallucci, US and Global leader of Deloitte’s CFO Program, told FOX Business those findings should come as no surprise.

“Macroeconomic challenges continue to remain front and center for CFOs,’ Gallucci said. “The past several years CFOs have been operating in a period with persistent inflation and record-high interest rates.”