Former President Donald Trump once again dominated the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, with 62 percent of those polled saying they wanted him as the 2024 GOP nominee.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who skipped the annual confab that returned to the DC suburb this year, was again in second place with 20 percent support.
Trump improved his performance from last February’s CPAC, where he received 55 percent support while DeSantis support remained stable. He got 21 percent last year when the conference was held in his home state of Florida.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who continues to falsely claim she won her election, was voted the top pick for Trump’s vice president.
Twenty percent of respondents chose Lake as their VP, followed by 14 percent who said DeSantis and 10 percent who said former UN ambassador. Nikki Haley, who announced she would challenge Trump for the GOP nomination last month.
Former President Donald Trump once again dominated the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, with 62 percent of those polled saying they wanted him as the 2024 GOP nominee
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued in second place, this time with 20 percent of the CPAC straw poll vote. DeSantis skipped the conservative conference, which was held outside of Washington, while Trump is set to make headlines Saturday night
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who continues to falsely claim she won her election, was voted the top pick for Trump’s vice president
Only 3 percent of CPAC attendees said they wanted Haley to be at the top of the GOP ticket.
Perry Johnson, a businessman and high-profile Republican nominee, outperformed Haley by 5 percent in the CPAC straw poll.
When Haley’s name was mentioned when the poll results were announced by pollster Jim McLaughlin, the pro-Trump crowd booed.
It’s no surprise that Trump led the pack — not only is he the de facto leader of the Republican Party, but CPAC has become ground zero for MAGA believers.
Since Wednesday, a parade of pro-Trump Republicans has taken the stage, including family members Donald Trump Jr., his fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lara Trump, and political acolytes like Lake and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Still, Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, another potential GOP hopeful, defied the crowd.
Pompeo received just 1 percent support in the CPAC poll.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley braved the Trump CPAC crowd to deliver a speech on Friday. When his name was mentioned during the announcement of Straw poll results, members of the crowd booed
Perry Johnson, a businessman and high-profile Republican nominee, outperformed Haley by 5 percent in the CPAC straw poll
Others likely to jump in, including DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, skipped this year’s gathering.
Former President George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove welcomed DeSantis’ decision to snub CPAC, going so far as to call the straw poll “completely meaningless.”
Participants were also asked who they thought would be on the Democratic ticket.
Just 39 percent said they believed it would be Biden, followed by 23 percent who said California Gov. Gavin Newsom would challenge Biden for the nomination and win.
After that, 14 percent of respondents said Michelle Obama — who has shown no interest in running for president — and just 6 percent said it was Vice President Kamala Harris.
CPAC participants finally appear to believe Hillary Clinton has retired, with just 3 percent saying they expected her to become the Democratic nominee.
Last year, a whopping 22 percent believed Clinton would usurp Biden and become the Democratic nominee for 2024.