Florida small biz owners eye primary

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. (CBS) - When Paramount Performance Marketing, a printing plant in Jacksonville, Florida, closed last month after a century in business, owner Jon Cummins laid off his last 24 employees.

"The overall business level was down for a very long time, and we did not know when it was coming back, and the work that was out there - everybody was bidding at much lower dollars than they used to, so you could be doing as much work as you did before for less margins," Cummins said in an interview.

He blames the effects of the recession for his business failure, but he says onerous federal government regulations did not help. Despite a sterling safety record, his plant received a the surprise visit from Occupational Safety and Health Administration last year.

"Basically came here and shut us down for two days as they interviewed every single employee and went through every nook and cranny and came up with a list of things that they felt were violations," Cummins said. The visit resulted in almost $5,000 fines.

With his printing presses idle and ready for sale, Cummins agreed to let the Romney campaign stage a rally with his plant as a backdrop this week, so Cummins himself would get the chance to meet the candidate.

"I'm definitely hoping that the economy turns around whoever is in the White House," Cummins said.

The campaign hung a huge "Obama Isn't Working" banner behind the stage, but Cummins doesn't blame the President for his troubles.

"The straw that broke the camel's back was just the uncertainty of how the market was going to be and what the business levels would be," Cummins said. Still, the visit turned Cummins from "undecided" to a Romney supporter.

"He talked about a free market economy," Cummins said. "He talked about ending the government regulations that are crippling business and small business. It's nutty how many new rules there are now."

In Florida, a majority of people work for a small business. In fact, 98-percent of Florida businesses employ 100 or fewer people, according to the Labor Department.

Jacksonville is the hub of conservative, northern Florida, home to military bases and a growing number of high-tech businesses. 1.4 million people live in the metropolitan area, and more than 60 percent of voters here backed John McCain in 2008 and George W. Bush in 2004 and 2000.

CBS New went to Jacksonville this week to gather the views of a number of registered Republican small business owners on presidential field and improving the economy.

Like Cummins, Shawn Lednick is looking for less regulation and also lower taxes. He employs 30 people at Proton Systems, manufacturing medical devices for cancer therapy, and at Matrix Machine Repair, an industrial repair shop.

"I just believe if we're going to create more jobs and be able to expand, there need to be some tax breaks for the people that are looking to create those jobs," Lednick said.

He considers Romney's business experience too corporate, turning around large companies as CEO of Bain Capital.

"He's more of an investment banker, not a hands on 'let's get in there and find out how to build the actual part and produce something we can sell for a profit,'" Lednick said. He's backing Newt Gingrich.

"I feel he is the most qualified, he has a lot of experience. As Speaker of the House, he presided over a surplus, he presided over a budget that was actually balanced - things that we aren't doing at the present time, and I think he knows how to get back to that point," Lednick said.

Paul Nowaskey, who works alone refurbishing motorcycles and selling them on consignment at Coast Cycle,was a Gingrich supporter, seeing him favorably as a "Reagan conservative." But Nowaskey changed his mind during this week's debate in Jacksonville.

"I'm sick and tired of the arguing between Romney and Gingrich," he said. "They should be working together than at each other. For me, I just don't like bring up the baggage on both of them. "

Nowaskey has decided to vote for Rick Santorum despite his distant standing in the polls.

"I don't look at it as throwing away my vote. I'm looking at it as I'm backing the person I think would make the excellent president," he said. "I'm aligned with his conservative views, his family views."

"None of these candidates really thrill me," Pete Behringer said before Thursday's debate. For Behringer, a one-time president of College Republicans at Rollins College, runaway federal spending is the top issue. "If we can't get that under control, I don't see future generations are even going to have a chance in starting a business," he said.

He and his wife Allison, own the all-natural candy store, Sweet Pete's. It occupies a large, once foreclosed house they bought in 2010, after they sold out of their previous business, a 33 candy store franchise hit badly by the recession.

Alison said, "I do know we have to get people back to work. I know that our customers, once they lose their jobs, they're not our customers any more."

Both Behringers were "undecided" until the Jacksonville debate. A turning point for them was when Ron Paul answered an audience question asking how religious beliefs would affect his potential presidency?

"Well, my religious beliefs wouldn't affect it. My religious beliefs affect my character in the way I treat people and the way I live," Paul answered.

They now plan to vote for Paul because of his libertarian views and plans to eliminate a number the federal agencies.

"His answers seemed more clear cut and to the point," Allison said, "I'm definitely fiscally conservative, but socially, I am a little more liberal, and so I think he is more in line with what I am looking for."

"In terms of fiscal policy, he is the most conservative in the race," Pete added. It would be his intent to bring spending to levels far below the other candidates."

Ron Paul had been the first choice of real estate financier Tarik Bateh, but he's going to vote for Romney, he said, to stop Gingrich.

Bateh said, "I see him as very unstable, very much a hothead, can fly off the handle and rush to rash decisions. Further, I don't see any track record of his in the business world, at least that I would be proud of. Taking fees from Freddie Mac to be a lobbyist is not something I would be proud of."

Bateh, who helps developers acquire properties, like the Hampton Inn near Jacksonville's riverfront, believes Romney is a proven problem solver.

"I think he clearly fits that bill. He did it with the Olympics in Salt Lake City," he said.

New Romney supporter Jon Cummins says saving an Olympics, running a private equity firm, and governing Massachusetts is a reliable enough track record for him.

He said, "I want a successful president. I want somebody who knows how to get results."

With all the candidate visits and debates in the early primary states - Florida is only the fourth - fewer than 10 percent of Florida Republicans say they remain undecided.

Tom Scholl is among them. A former West Virginia coal miner turned entrepreneur, he's developing a swath of the St. John's riverbank into Keystone Terminal, a port and manufacturing facility that will host 200 permanent jobs.

Scholl is looking for a candidate who can forge compromise in Washington. He said, "We're going to have to have a leader now who can really bring both sides together, and it's going to be so important this round that we're not fighting back and forth, and that the Democrats and Republicans do work together to get the problem solved now."

He's narrowed his choice to Romney or Gingrich, and he may not decide until Tuesday.

Scholl said, "How do know which one's more electable? That's the key?"