In the wake of fierce attacks from Mitt Romney over his “you didn’t build that” comments, Barack Obama is finding it harder and harder to get business owners on his side.

The latest proof? A Gallup poll recently showed that 59% of business owners disapproved of the job Obama was doing. Only 35% of business owners approved.

That’s a 6% drop from the first quarter of this year, where 41% of business owners supported Obama. In even worse news for the president, this poll was taken before his comments on July 13, where he extolled how other people — and government — assisted people with their lives, saying “…If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” His approval ratings with business owners could decrease further once fallout from those comments are factored into polls.

While only 3% of the working voter population owns their own business, in an election this tight, every vote will count, and both candidates have talked up small business owners as the engines of economic growth and job creation. Right now, it sounds like they are listening to Romney more than they are Obama.

For more information, check out this Washington Post article.

— Benjamin Nanamaker, InvestorPlace Money & Politics Editor

The opinions contained in this column are solely those of the writer.

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