HispanicBusiness

When voters head to the polls Tuesday, the economy and jobs will be foremost on the minds of many.

The economy shows signs of being just as important to voters as it was in the 2008 presidential election, when the country's economy was still in recession. In total, 87 percent of registered voters said the economy is very important to their vote now, as it was in 2008, according to a report by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released in September.

The importance of jobs to voters has grown, with 83 percent of registered voters rating jobs as very important in September 2012 versus 80 percent in October 2008.

In the wake of those economic concerns, the percentage of people who say other top political issues, such as terrorism and immigration, are very important has dropped from 2008 to 2012, according to the report.

Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are offering different solutions to voters on how to boost an economy that has yet to recover from the recession, but simply seeing an end to the election cycle and a leader for the nation selected -- regardless of who he is -- may have a positive impact on jobs and the overall economy, according to some.

Business can handle anything but uncertainty, according to Don Vitale of Manchester Capital in Bowling Green.

The uncertainty created by the presidential election is having a generally paralyzing effect on business, he said.

After the outcome of the election is clear, then businesses will be able to react to the policies that the winner will likely lay out when he takes office, Vitale said.

Catherine Carey, chair of the Economics Department at Western Kentucky University, is of a similar opinion. She said it's hard for businesses to make long-term investments when so many future policies are unclear.

"They're making 30-year investments when they don't know what the rules are going to be next year," she said.

While the real estate market in the Bowling Green area is seeing signs of recovery, that recovery will likely become stronger after the election, said Steve Davis, president of the Realtor Association of Southern Kentucky.

"Politics is going to change no matter who is elected in Washington, and it's going to affect our jobs, it's going to affect our housing industry, I feel like in a positive way," he said. "I feel like that's what we need to get through to get things started."

He said he expects to see real estate activity in spring of 2013 to be much higher than that seen in recent years.

Effects of the recession locally

A diversity of industries in Bowling Green and the Warren County area means that, though the recession hit some sectors hard, the overall effects have been more mild than in many other areas of the country, Vitale said.

"We are enjoying a faster recovery, I believe, because of our attractive balance," he said. "By that I mean, we are a center for health care in the region, for higher education. We are a retail center. We have a wonderfully diverse industrial manufacturing base as well as a strong agricultural sector that is enjoying attractive commodity prices."

The principal negative impact that the area experienced during the