SHOULD YOUR BUSINESS endorse a candidate as the 2024 election approaches? After all, we are all being bombarded by a heavy dose of political media and comment. Economic issues such as inflation, the cost of living and childcare are important to voters.

You might want to post the name of your preferred candidate on your storefront or on your website, for example, showing whom you support in no uncertain terms and why.

Doing so, however, is not a good idea, judging from a new poll from Bentley University and Gallup. You will lose more than you will gain.

The reason: You risk harming your profits among consumers who do not share your candidate preference, the survey finds. In the poll more than six in 10 Democrats and Republicans say they would be less likely to buy from a company that endorses a candidate from the opposing party.

The survey finds, too, that as the election approaches, the issues are becoming more divisive and the risks you face by endorsing a candidate are  growing.

For two consecutive years, adults have become less likely to want to hear from businesses on current events, with few topics earning interest from even a slight majority, the survey finds.

Issues versus candidate

Endorsing a party’s stance on issues is less risky than a candidate, the poll suggests. Although less than one-third of adults want businesses to speak out on gun laws, immigration policy or abortion, the American public is especially unlikely to want businesses to take a formal stance on political candidates.

Companies that do choose to endorse a candidate may feel repercussions in their bottom lines, as many partisan consumers indicate they would be less likely to patronize businesses that formally endorse candidates of the opposing party.

The poll finds that independents are about three times more likely to say they would avoid purchasing products from a company that endorses a candidate from either party than to say such an endorsement would make them more likely to purchase its products. 

True, you might gain sales from some consumers. If companies endorse a candidate from a person’s preferred political party, it is unlikely to hurt the business within that group, the poll finds. Just over one in three Democrats (34%) and Republicans (38%) say they would be more likely to purchase products from a company that endorsed a political candidate from their own party, and at least six in 10 say it wouldn’t affect their decisions.

The losses will outweigh the gains, however. Better play it safe and avoid any endorsements than be sorry afterwards.

The results show Americans of nearly all age groups, genders, races and partisan groups have become less likely to want to hear from businesses on current events over the past two years.

Groups who were previously the most receptive to hearing from businesses are now considerably less likely to say so. In 2022, three-quarters of Democrats thought businesses should take a stance on current events; yet, over the past two years, that support has decreased by 22 percentage points.

Over the same period, Asian and Black adults have become 27 and 18 percentage points less likely, respectively, to think businesses should speak out. The only groups who now express majority support for businesses taking public stances are LGBTQ+ adults (55%), Black adults (54%) and Democrats (53%).

Not all issues are equal

While 38% of adults generally think businesses should speak publicly on current events, not all events are considered equal. Narrow majorities of U.S. adults want to hear from businesses on climate change (54%), mental health (53%), and diversity, equity, and inclusion (53%). Free speech (48%) and healthcare issues (48%) garner near-majority support, but far fewer U.S. adults want businesses to speak publicly on what may be several of the most salient issues during the November election, including gun laws (32%), immigration policy (31%), international conflicts (24%), abortion (20%) and the candidates themselves (17%).

Democrats are more likely than Republicans and independents to want businesses to speak out on all 13 topics tested -- particularly diversity, equity, and inclusion (79%) and climate change (78%). Relative to all other topics, Republicans are most likely to want businesses to speak out on free speech (36%), mental health (33%) and healthcare (28%).