Although Business Is Better, Entrepreneurs Lean to Dole

More than half of the small-business owners responding to a KeyCorp poll said their businesses have improved in the last four years.

But that doesn't mean they will be voting for Bill Clinton.

Just 25% of the 400 small-business owners surveyed nationwide favor reelecting the President, who has asked voters to judge him on whether their lives have improved under his leadership.

About 50% plan to vote for the Republican challenger, Bob Dole.

"Although the economy is doing well, small-business owners aren't giving much credit to their elected officials," said Sandy Maltby, executive vice president of KeyCorp's small-business unit.

Entrepreneurs historically have tended to vote for the Republican presidential candidate.

Ms. Maltby said entrepreneurial optimism about the business climate mirrors the healthy balance sheets and income statements the bank has received from applicants for small-business loans.

"Their outlook will influence how aggressively they are going to manage and grow their business, and that will affect our business," Ms. Maltby said.

When asked whether the country is "on the right track," 44% of small- business owners surveyed said yes. That's an increase from 30% in October 1994, just before Republicans gained control of Congress.

This year, the Republican Congress received a 43% approval rating, and only 37% said the Republicans kept the campaign promises made two years ago.

President Clinton's approval rating was 37%, up from 29% in 1994.

The survey has a margin of error of five percentage points.