Approval of Obama among business owners drops in second quarter

Business owners hold some of the lowest approval ratings of President Obama, according to a new Gallup poll. 

Gallup found that 59 percent of business owners disapprove of Obama's policies while only 34 percent approve. The findings are for the second quarter of the year. 

In the first quarter, Gallup found that 41 percent of business owners approved of Obama.

The poll's findings are welcome news for Mitt Romney and Republicans, who have repeatedly accused Obama of pushing policies that hurt business owners. 

Republicans have argued that an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for income up to $250,000 a year (but not over) will only hurt job creation and small-business owners. On Wednesday, the Senate passed the $250,00 extension just after it voted down different legislation that would have extended all the Bush-era rates, including for income above the $250,000 threshold.

Overall, Gallup found that in the second quarter, 47 percent of working Americans approve of Obama's performance as president while 47 percent disapprove. The findings are a small improvement compared to the first quarter, for which Gallup found 45 percent approved while 48 percent disapproved.

The poll was conducted from April 1 to June 30 through telephone interviews among 25,464 employed adult Americans. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.