CEOs prefer Giuliani for president
CEOs tend to be students of leadership and strategy, and so it comes as no surprise to Pew Research President Andy Kohut that CEOs are attracted to Rudy Giuliani's "strong leadership image."
CEOs have wealth, power and influence, but also are part of a demographic too small to have been analyzed like soccer moms and NASCAR dads. But what little research there is, including an unscientific survey of 154 CEOs by USA TODAY, suggests that they are not monolithic. Two in five vote Democratic. But the typical CEO would vote for Giuliani, which supports the long-held belief that executives worry less about social positions on abortion and gun control and more about fiscal issues such as the economy and federal deficits. CEOs are also pragmatic and see Giuliani as the best hope for a Republican victory a year from now.
Many CEOs said they were far from firm in their decision. But USA TODAY gave them no option to be undecided. They were told that they had to vote as if the election were today. Giuliani got 25 percent of the CEO vote, followed by Hillary Clinton (19 percent), Mitt Romney (16 percent), Barack Obama (13 percent) and John McCain (9 percent).
A small portion of CEOs, including Tony Cataldo, CEO of telecommunications company VoIP Inc. in Altamonte Springs, Fla., are so disappointed that Republicans have lost their fiscal compass that they are prepared to jump parties.
"I just hope Hillary does as good a job as Bill (Clinton) on welfare reform, balancing the budget, lower taxes and improving schools," says Steve Hafner, who helped found Orbitz and is now CEO of Kayak.com in Norwalk, Conn. "I'm a lifelong Republican, but the sad truth is that the GOP has lost its way."
'Rational decisions'
"When Bill Clinton was in office, he made rational decisions, which equated to financial surplus. Now, the country is faced with huge deficits that could prove to be the most significant financial crisis we've seen in nearly a century," says Jordan Wirsz, CEO of Diamond Bay Investments in Las Vegas, who plans to vote for Hillary Clinton.
None of the 154 CEOs who responded to USA TODAY's survey said that they typically voted Democratic but intended to vote Republican in 2008. Still, Giuliani was the favorite. He also won in a scientific survey of small-business owners by payroll-processing company SurePayroll and a much larger unscientific survey of more than 2,000 CEOs by Vistage International, which says it's the world's largest CEO membership organization. LinkedIn, which says it has 145,000 CEOs signed up, found Clinton in the lead in a small, unscientific response.
"I'd just like a person who's honest and doesn't spend money like there's no end to the supply," says Bob Peterson, president of Melton Truck Lines in Tulsa, who is leaning toward Giuliani.
"Without an increase in the taxes that my company or I may have to pay, I may be able to hire more, grow faster and invest in new ideas," says Giuliani supporter Gary Gordon, CEO of Pacific Park Financial in Aliso Viejo, Calif. "Rudy proved his tax-cutting mettle as the mayor of New York. He's also the only person with a realistic shot of beating Clinton."
The SurePayroll survey of 435 small-business owners, selected randomly from 18,000 small businesses and representative of every state, found that 59 percent were registered Republican, 35 percent Democrat and 6 percent independent or other. Of those who intend to vote Republican, 36 percent favored Giuliani. Thompson was at 32 percent and Romney at 21 percent. Of the small-business owners who intend to vote Democratic, 49 percent favored Clinton and 32 percent Obama.
Vistage allowed its CEOs to vote undecided, which carried the day with 37 percent, followed by Giuliani (21 percent), Romney (11 percent), Clinton (9 percent) and Obama (7 percent). LinkedIn CEOs casting 446 votes online were 47 percent Republican and 44 percent Democratic. Of those, Clinton received 29 percent of the votes to 18 percent for Giuliani and 16 percent for Obama.
Fiscal responsibility
The fiscal responsibility theme was echoed by many Democrats, such as Kathy Sharpe, CEO of New York interactive marketing agency Sharpe Partners, who supports New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson because he is the closest thing in either party to a social liberal, fiscal conservative.
Not all CEO Republicans ignore social issues. Chris Wyatt, CEO of GodTube.com in Dallas, and Chris Uhland, CEO of SkyeTec in Jacksonville, support Thompson.
Tod Loofbourrow, CEO of Waltham, Mass., human resources company Authoria, supports Obama as a firm, decisive visionary, as does real estate developer Don Peebles, who says Obama lives the American dream, is not saddled with poor past decisions and is liberated to take the country in a fresh direction.
Jonathan Tisch, CEO of the Loews Hotels chain that includes The Regency in New York and The Santa Monica Beach Hotel in California, says he supports Clinton for her intelligence and experience. In March, he contributed $4,600 to Clinton and $28,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to Federal Election Commission data posted on Opensecrets.org.
'A real moral compass'
Raul Fernandez, CEO of ObjectVideo and an owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals and the NBA's Washington Wizards, has contributed to both Richardson and McCain but voted for McCain in the USA TODAY survey because McCain, he says, has the courage to take unpopular positions on immigration and Iraq.
"While I don't agree with him on Iraq, he has a real moral compass that is missing in a lot of other candidates," Fernandez said. "He listens to different points of view. What a change that would be."
The women's vote will decide the election, says Warren Heck, CEO of Greater New York Mutual Insurance, a Giuliani supporter who thinks he would lose to Clinton. "If women support Hillary, she is a shoo-in."
There are so few female CEOs that it will matter little how they vote. But of the eight to vote in the USA TODAY survey, three supported Clinton, two supported Giuliani, and one each supported Democrat John Edwards, Richardson and Romney.
Many CEOs say they can still be swayed. Jon Pritchett, CEO of General Sports Venue in Raleigh, N.C., which installs AstroTurf on fields nationwide, will vote for a Republican but prefers candidate "GiulRomPson" because Giuliani is tough, Romney understands business and economics, and Thompson brings back fond memories of "the last time we hired a tall, well-spoken, divorced actor."
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