Big and small businesses may give up reluctance to start hiring.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's Republican trouncefest, a rare Democratic victor stepped forward to voice support for manufacturing, a once-mighty American business sector reduced to a shell of itself because of policies that have made it more attractive for companies to take their work abroad.

Delaware U.S. Sen.-elect Chris Coons pledged to "help make these . . . words real again . . . Made in America."

Ironically, it might be the Republican platform that helps that cause.

In a national survey of 99 manufacturing executives conducted last month by Grant Thornton L.L.P., 40 percent said the best way to create jobs was to reduce the corporate tax rate; 27 percent said to cut the personal income tax.

In light of the GOP's gains, said Villanova University economics professor Peter Zaleski, manufacturing should continue what has been 15 straight months of expansion, largely because "what I would expect to see out of Washington would be a more business-friendly climate."

Although inventories dropped the last couple of years, manufacturers were reluctant to hire and ramp up production, "mainly because they weren't sure whether there was going to be an uptick in demand," Zaleski said.

They also were unclear whether legislation was on the horizon that would restrict their flexibility when it came to hiring and firing and providing employee benefits, he said.

"What you'll see now is maybe a little less reluctance to start taking up production again, which would then lead to some hiring eventually," Zaleski said.

That goes for the broader world of small businesses, too, said Philadelphia entrepreneur and economic-development consultant Jamila Payne. It is a group that has been hit particularly hard by the liquidity crisis resulting from the evaporation of credit.

"Getting the banks to open up their pocketbooks again is [a] really important factor," Payne said.

Yet she is not sure whether to count on any help from the new Congress:

"I'm hearing a lot of concern across party lines among small-business owners, because they feel that people who are representing the Republican Party have largely been for big business rather than small business."