Small business is key in 2016 presidential campaign playbook

Small businesses aren't in the dire straits they were four years ago, but presidential candidates aren't letting go of an issue they think will get them votes.

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has made small business one of the top items on her campaign agenda. Republican Ted Cruz says the primary problems hurting small companies are the health care law, taxes and government regulations. Republican Rand Paul says the tax law is burdening small business and slowing the economy.

Small businesses are in better shape than in 2012 when many owners were scared to hire people and spend on expansion. These days, owners are more optimistic. Their companies have healthier finances and are investing in equipment and property, according to several surveys.

Still, candidates are already talking about the nation's 28 million small businesses. It's not a bad tactic since a huge block of people own a small company or work for one. In the 2012 race, there was little noise about small business until four months before Election Day, when Republican Mitt Romney accused President Obama of not caring about small companies.

When candidates say "small business," they're talking about creating jobs, telling voters something they want to hear, says David Primo, professor of political science and business at the University of Rochester, N.Y.

It's also a way of connecting with the middle class.

"I want to be a small-business president," Clinton said recently during a meeting with small-business owners in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and then went on to describe growing up in a middle-class home where her father ran a small drapery fabric printing company.

So far, though, there are more sound bites than specifics when candidates talk about helping small companies.

Clinton called for an overhaul of federal regulations to make it easier for small businesses to operate, and for tax law changes that increase credits and deductions for small businesses. She didn't go into details about what those changes should be.

Cruz, a Texas senator, isn't ready to roll out his solutions for small-business problems, spokesman Rick Tyler says. Cruz has said he wants to reduce the size of the IRS and create a flat tax to replace the complex federal tax code.

Paul, a Kentucky senator, wants to implement a plan that would eliminate two existing federal regulations for every new one, campaign manager Chip Englander says.

In the coming weeks, Paul will release his plan to overhaul taxes including those on small business, Englander says.

Republicans also talk about repealing the health care law. But that might not be something many business owners want.

The law has brought about good changes that should be retained, like ending health insurers' ability to deny coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, says Wade Benz, president of USimprints, a Brentwood, Tenn., seller of promotional items and corporate gifts. He does want the next president to do something to lower insurance premiums.

The minimum wage is a tricky issue. Many workers want it, but small-business owners like restaurant franchisees are against it. Republicans oppose raising the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 an hour. Clinton supports it.