With 55 Percent, Trump Is Top Vote Getter for 2024 GOP Primary, Says CPAC Straw Poll

A majority of attendees present during this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) would support Donald Trump during hypothetical primary elections ahead of the 2024 presidential contest, according to the event’s straw poll results.

The conference, held annually, conducted two separate straw polls by secret ballot over the course of its four-day schedule, culminating with the former president’s remarks on Sunday afternoon.

The former president’s name was included as an option in one of two straw polls distributed throughout CPAC’s current event series, in coordination with The Washington Times. Of 21 names offered to attendees, Trump earned 55 percent of votes that responded to the question: “Thinking ahead, if the 2024 Republican primary for President in your state were held today among the following candidates, for whom would you vote?”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican and Trump ally, received the second-highest portion of votes after Trump, with 21 percent. DeSantis earned a majority of votes answering the same question in CPAC’s second straw poll, where Trump’s name did not appear.

The remaining names, which consisted of Republican figures across politics and media, received between zero and 4 percent of attendees’ support.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, whose criticism of leading health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci during her Saturday remarks prompted a standing ovation from the CPAC audience, earned the third-highest share of attendee support with 4 percent of votes.

One percent of conference attendees indicated their support for Fox News host Tucker Carlson in straw poll responses.

Slightly more than 1,000 people who attended this year’s CPAC event in Orlando, Florida, participated in the poll, according to the Washington Times. The conference’s guest list included active and former elected officials, as well as conservative activists, writers, corporate personnel and others.

Many of the conference’s speeches, and some elements of its physical decor, illustrated an overtone of allegiance to Trump. Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue described Trump as the country’s “legitimate” and “still actual” president during an earlier speech, even as President Joe Biden enters his second month in the White House. A 6-foot-tall gold statue of Trump was seen on display inside the conference’s event space on Saturday.

The conclusion of Trump’s presidency was steeped in chaos, as he relentlessly attempted to overturn the general election’s outcome. After initiating dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits that aimed to challenge results in states and counties where most voters cast ballots favoring Biden’s win, he invited supporters to Washington, D.C., for a “Save America” rally on January 6 that took place as Congress met to certify the victory. A mob of the rally’s attendees later stormed the Capitol complex during a violent act of insurrection, which led House lawmakers to impeach Trump for a second time.

He was ultimately acquitted during a historic Senate trial that took place after Biden took office, and suggested his intentions to launch another presidential campaign during the 2024 election season multiple times. Federal officials and general citizens alike have expressed serious concern about the possibility that he might actually proceed with a future run, in light of the unprecedented tumult that characterized much of his time in Washington.