Donald Trump single-handedly wins CPAC 2024 straw poll with 94% to Nikki Haley’s 5% as Vivek Ramaswamy and Kristi Noem TIE for favorite pick for vice president

An internal poll of Republican voters at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) found that Donald Trump is once again their overwhelming first choice for president.

Trump won the vote decisively with 94 percent of the vote, to Nikki Haley’s 5 percent. He also received a 96 percent approval rating, while only 3 percent of 1,478 respondents disapproved of his job performance as president.

It is the seventh year in a row that the former president dominated the annual poll as the choice for the Republican candidate. In March 2023, 62 percent of spring conference attendees named him as their top choice for 2024.

The victory for the former president comes on the same day he faces Nikki Haley in the South Carolina primary. He addressed his adoring supporters earlier on Saturday, calling himself a “political dissident” before heading to the Palmetto State tonight for his expected victory speech.

Of the 17 potential running mates for Trump listed in the survey, entrepreneurs Vivek Ramaswamy and Kristi Noem tied for 15 percent of the vote.

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard came in third with 9 percent, and Rep. Elise Stefanik and Sen. Tim Scott both landed in fourth place with a tie at 8 percent.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were all among the choices for voters at the conservative conference.

The poll represents the clearest choice among Republicans for the vice presidential spot, as speculation has been building for months about who Trump might pick as his No. 2.

Talk of Trump’s running mate began in earnest this week after the former president was asked by Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday for a list of possible choices.

The list included Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Representative Byron Donalds, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard.

Trump confirmed that they were all on his shortlist.

“Honestly, all those people are good. They’re all good, they’re all solid,” he said.

CPAC respondents also overwhelmingly think Joe Biden will not be the Democratic nominee in 2024, predicting that former First Lady Michelle Obama would step in to fill his spot at 47 percent.

California Governor Gavin Newsom came in second with 32 percent.

The former president praised Tim Scott during his Friday rally in South Carolina.

“He ran, and he did well,” Trump said of Scott’s 2024 campaign. He ended his run in October.

‘He is a respected man. But he ran and was fine, and when he got out, he supported me and is a surrogate. He’s the best surrogate I’ve ever seen.”

“This guy went from being a modest, high-quality guy to introducing his mother — who is incredible, by the way,” Trump said.

‘He is a much better representative for me than for himself. And it’s true. And that is a great compliment. And do you know why? Because he is a high quality person. He doesn’t like to talk about himself,” Trump said in Scott’s home state.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who were included in the poll, both spoke at the conference Friday.

The potential running mates spoke highly of the former president during their remarks, prompting voters to rally behind Trump.

“I have stood in the gap for President Trump, for the Constitution, and most importantly for you – the people – in some of the toughest battles of our republic,” Stefanik said Friday.

Noem directly mocked President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, questioned their leadership of the country and touted her own conservative credentials as she thrilled the Washington crowd.

“I’m just going to say it. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris? They suck,” she said, prompting wild applause from the activists in the room.

She also indicated that Biden might not even make it to the November election and stormed into the White House for failing to address the border.

“We have to face the facts: Joe Biden is not going to run for president and Kamala is not a backup plan,” she said.

Noem praised Trump for his leadership and reminded the audience that she was one of the first politicians to step aside to support Trump in 2024 — even as people suggested she run her own campaign.

“I said no, why would you run for president if you can’t win,” she said. ‘I didn’t say it to be nice. I said it because it was a fact.”

Former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard also appeared at CPAC, delivering an impassioned speech in which he defended former President Donald Trump and called Democrats “dictators” who want to “destroy democracy.”

‘I have met many strong, tough people in my life. “I can’t think of a single person who could not only withstand everything thrown at Donald Trump without collapsing, but also someone who would actually choose to continue fighting the entire Washington establishment,” said Gabbard, D -Hawaii.