Former President Donald Trump handily won the Conservative Political Action Conference’s 2024 straw poll, indicating he remains Republican activists’ first choice for the party’s presidential nomination.
The final numbers, released Saturday at the conference in Dallas, showed Trump ahead with 69 percent support.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 24 percent, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) followed in third with 2 percent, a dozen other candidates, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin and Florida. Sen. Rick Scott received 1% or less.
Straw poll results show Trump is CPAC attendees’ choice for 2024. REUTERS CPAC straw poll results of Trump’s running mate.REUTERS Almost all attendees approved of Trump’s job as president.Morry Gash/AP Trump has consistently dominated CPAC straw polls since leaving office.Yuki Iwamura for New York Post
99% of those attending the conference said they approved of Trump’s job as president.
DeSantis, who did not attend the Dallas conservative confab, was the likely front-runner among CPAC attendees if Trump declined to seek the nomination, with a large plurality of attendees also saying he would be the best choice to serve as possible Vice President. for Trump
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was a distant second with 24%. AP
The results show that despite being banned from Twitter and disappearing from national headlines, the former president would remain the odds-on favorite to win the nomination in November if he decides to run.
Trump has routinely dominated CPAC straw polls since leaving office, and Saturday’s results track past polls.
“No Republican can stop Trump from the nomination; no Democrat can stop Trump from the presidency,” former White House adviser Steve Bannon told The Post.