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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called for dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act Thursday night during the first Republican primary debate.
August 7 -
Friends of Traditional Banking, has released its preliminary list of 2014 races to watch.
June 26
WASHINGTON Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are leading in a presidential poll of bankers.
The poll was conducted by Friends of Traditional Banking, a financial services political group that operates similar to a superPAC, which surveyed 300 bankers Aug. 14-18.
Rubio and Kasich tied for first place with 12.7% of the vote. Donald Trump followed in close second with 11.3%, trailed by Ben Carson, a former doctor, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who were each endorsed by 10.7% of voters.
"Rubio has gone out of his way on the campaign trail to slam Dodd-Frank and call for less regulation and lower taxes, and Kasich is also resonating with his experience on the House Budget Committee crafting balanced budgets and as an investment banker," John Boyer, chair of the Friends of Traditional Banking and chairman of Kanza Bank of Kansas, said in a press release.
Rubio was the only prominent candidate to mention the Dodd-Frank Act during the first presidential debate earlier this month, saying the law was "eviscerating" community banks and small businesses.
Leading Democratic contender Hillary Clinton received just 4.7% of the vote in the poll, lagging behind Carly Fiorina, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in addition to the frontrunners.
"Clinton notably has eight Republicans more popular than her with this non-partisan group, perhaps showing how frustrated the industry is with Democratic behavior towards traditional banking in the Obama years," the group said in the press release.
The survey also found that bankers are near unanimous in believing the next president should support making changes to the Dodd-Frank Act: 94% rated it as important, while 79% said it was very important.
Friends of Traditional Banking selects two congressional races each election cycle and asks bankers to contribute directly to supported candidates. It does not plan to be involved in the presidential race. The group formed in 2012.
