Former President Donald Trump once again dominated the opinion poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, with 62 percent of attendees polled saying they want him as the 2024 Republican nominee.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who skipped the annual talk that returned to suburban DC this year, again came in second with 20 percent support.
Trump improved his performance from last February’s CPAC, where he received 55 percent support, while DeSantis’ support held steady. 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 first choice to be Trump’s vice president.
Twenty percent of those polled chose Lake for vice president, followed by 14 percent who said DeSantis and 10 percent who said the former UN ambassador. Nikki Haley, who announced that she would challenge Trump for the Republican nomination last month.
Former President Donald Trump once again dominated the opinion poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, with 62 percent of attendees polled saying they want him as the 2024 Republican nominee.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to come in second, this time with 20 percent of the CPAC opinion poll vote. DeSantis skipped the conservative conference being held outside of Washington, while Trump will headline on Saturday night.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who continues to falsely claim she won her election, was voted first choice to be Trump’s vice president.
Just 3 percent of CPAC attendees said they wanted to see Haley at the top of the Republican ticket.
Perry Johnson, a businessman and longtime Republican candidate, outperformed Haley in the CPAC opinion poll, earning 5 percent.
When Haley’s name was mentioned when pollster Jim McLaughlin announced the poll results, the pro-Trump crowd booed.
No wonder Trump led the pack: Not only is he the de facto leader of the Republican Party, but CPAC has become ground zero for the MAGA faithful.
Since Wednesday, a parade of pro-Trump Republicans has taken the stage, including members of the Donald Trump Jr. family, his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lara Trump, as well as political acolytes like Lake and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Still, Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, another possible Republican challenger, defied the crowd.
Pompeo earned just 1 percent support in the CPAC poll.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley defied the same Trump CPAC crowd to deliver a speech on Friday. When her name was mentioned during the announcement of the opinion poll results, members of the crowd booed.
Perry Johnson, a businessman and far-reaching Republican candidate, outperformed Haley in the CPAC opinion poll, earning 5 percent.
Others likely to participate, including DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, skipped this year’s meeting.
Former President George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove applauded DeSantis’s decision to snub the CPAC, even going so far as to call the polling poll “completely nonsensical.”
Attendees were also asked who they thought would be at the top of 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 those polled said Michelle Obama, who showed no interest in running for president, and only 6 percent said Kamala Harris would be vice president.
CPAC attendees apparently finally believe Hillary Clinton has withdrawn from politics, with just 3 percent saying they expected her to be the Democratic nominee.
Last year, a whopping 22 percent believed Clinton would usurp Biden and become the 2024 Democratic nominee.