Former President Donald Trump topped the 2024 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
The story: The event in Dallas, Texas took place on Sunday where event organizers held two 2024 presidential straw polls: one with Trump and one without him. Attendees answered a 20-question survey created by organizers, via an online app. The questions covered topics like cancel culture, critical race theory, and border security among other things.
In detail: The former president won 70% of the ballots cast in the anonymous straw poll, CPAC announced on Sunday afternoon. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) came in second with 21% of the vote in the informal survey. The rest of the 2024 GOP contenders in the poll received under 1% of the vote individually.
DeSantis, who gained popularity among conservatives for his response to the coronavirus pandemic and opposition to strict lockdown measures, got 68% of the vote at the CPAC event in the 2024 ballot question that committed Trump from the informal poll. He was followed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at 5%, Donald Trump Jr. and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at 4%, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem at 3%.
What Trump said: “I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your incredible support,” Trump told the crowd at CPAC.
He called the 2020 election “a disgrace to our nation.”
“We are truly being scorned and disrespected all over the world. Never forget that the radical left is not the majority in this country. We are the majority and it’s not even close,” Trump said.
He also appeared to tease a 2024 run: “I could have a nice, beautiful life and here I am on a Sunday in Texas.”
Worth noting: Trump’s approval rating at CPAC was 98%. It is unclear if the former president will run again in 2024, however, he recently said that he had made a final decision.
How we got here: At the CPAC event in Orlando earlier this year in February, Trump received the support of only 55% of CPAC attendees in the hypothetical 2024 Republican primary matchup straw poll. DeSantis easily won the GOP primary ballot straw poll without the former president 43% of the vote.
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