Leadership Now Project’s Survey Finds 84% of Business Leaders Worry About Political and Legal Climate’s Impact on Business
The Harris Poll October 2025
New York – In the week before elections, a new poll from Leadership Now Project conducted by The Harris Poll reveals that 84% of senior business leaders remain very or somewhat concerned about the current political and legal climate’s impact on their companies–holding steady from April.
Even more striking, this alarm cuts across political party affiliation (91% Democrat, 83% Republican, 81% Independent) and company size (82% small/mid-size (1-499 employees), 86% large (500+ employees)).
The sentiments expressed in the survey underscore concern about the impact on businesses of today’s volatile policy environment, including recent executive orders, policy shifts on tariffs, regulatory changes, and potential personnel changes. These drivers of uncertainty have complicated long-term planning, capital investment, hiring, and supply-chain decisions.
Conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Leadership Now Project from October 14–22, 2025, the online poll surveyed 353 senior business leaders (director level and above) across a range of company sizes. The previous poll was conducted April 21-24.
Other key findings from the polling include:
Citing fears of political retribution, reputational risk for themselves or their companies, and potential harassment of employees, 36% of business leaders feel very uncomfortable or somewhat uncomfortable publicly expressing their views on government policy, up from 25% in the previous April poll.
Despite that rising discomfort, there is near-unanimity on how to respond: irrespective of company size or party, 93% say businesses should appropriately push back against government policies they view as harmful. The most common actions cited were adjusting investments or operations in response to policy (50%), and issuing public statements or advocacy campaigns (47%), followed by withholding political contributions (46%), filing legal challenges in court (45%), building coalitions across industries (43%), and direct lobbying in Washington, D.C. (40%).
"Business leaders are still very worried that Washington policymaking will potentially harm their businesses,” said Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO of the Leadership Now Project. “Erratic government actions and unpredictable intervention in the economy prevent leaders from planning for the long-term and undermine our country’s economic competitiveness and the overall health of the economy. Today's uncertainty requires business leaders to be dynamic, and Leadership Now members urge colleagues to engage in supporting business stability and keeping the economy strong.”
These findings reinforce a core principle that guides Leadership Now Project’s work.
Protecting the rule of law is essential to safeguarding American competitiveness.
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About Leadership Now Project
Leadership Now Project is a membership organization of business leaders committed to protecting democracy as a foundation for a thriving economy and political stability. We take action—investing in leaders, influencing policy, responding to risks, and partnering to drive solutions.
Founded in 2017, today Leadership Now has members in 25+ states and chapters in 8, and collaborates with faculty at more than a dozen colleges and universities. Learn more at www.leadershipnowproject.org.
About the Survey
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Leadership Now Project from October 14 – 22, 2025, among 353 U.S. adults aged 21+ who are employed (full-time, part-time, or self-employed), as a director or higher (including VP and C-suite), across a range of company sizes (referred to as “senior business leaders”). The sampling precision of online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the full sample data is accurate to within +/- 5.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Kathy Steinberg, kathy.steinberg@harrispoll.com.
Media Contacts:
For Leadership Now Project: Patrick Lenihan, patrick@gravitystrat.com
For The Harris Poll: Kathy Steinberg, kathy.steinberg@harrispoll.com