Atlanta small-business owners weigh more than profit as Biden, Trump debate
As Trump and Biden face off in Georgia’s capital, small-business owners are weighing abortion rights, foreign policy and other issues beyond their profits.
Ryan Wilson is having a good year.
After having wrested back control of his members-only networking space in December, he said the Gathering Spot’s revenue has hit $20 million and keeps growing. The Atlanta-based company is now looking to open a fourth location, in Houston, by next year.
But like many small-business owners in Georgia’s capital, where President Joe Biden and Donald Trump will meet Thursday for their first debate of the 2024 race, Wilson said his priorities as a voter go beyond his bottom line.
He applauds the Biden administration’s efforts to extend federal student loan relief and access to capital to entrepreneurs, for example. “Those are the sorts of things that move the needle” for the business community overall, said Wilson, who’s hosting a debate watch party at the Gathering Spot on Thursday night.
Ryan Wilson, co-founder and CEO of the Gathering Spot, worries about disinformation affecting the 2024 vote.Ari Skin for NBC NewsToday, Trump leads Biden in Georgia by 43% to 38%, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey of likely voters this month, an edge just within its 3.1% margin of error. The swing state’s robust but uneven economic recovery makes it a Rorschach test for residents heading to the polls this fall — creating an opening for both campaigns’ messaging.
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