Trump and DeSantis Come Out on Top in CPAC Straw Poll

by: Tyler Shaw

A straw poll was taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this past weekend. 

The straw poll asked CPAC attendees the following question, “If the 2024 Republican Primary for President in your state were held today among the following candidates, for whom would you vote?”

The question was asked twice with two different lists of candidates that attendees were able to vote for. The first list didn’t include former President Trump, but the second list did.

In the first poll that was taken, without former President Trump, Governor Ron DeSantis won the poll receiving 68% of the votes, Mike Pompeo came in second receiving 5% of the votes, and Donald Trump Jr. came in third receiving 4% of the votes.

In the second poll that was taken, with former President Trump, the former President won the poll receiving 70% of the votes, Governor Ron DeSantis came in second receiving 21% of the votes, and no other candidate received more than 1% of the votes.

The clear winners of the CPAC straw poll were former President Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, but who was the biggest winner?

In the first poll, without former President Trump, Governor DeSantis received 68% of the vote, a 25% increase from the 43% percent that he received at the last CPAC straw poll taken in February.

In the second poll, with President Trump, the former president received 70% of the vote, a 15% increase from the 55% that he received at the last CPAC poll, while Governor DeSantis received 21% of the vote which is the same percentage that he received at the last CPAC poll.

In terms of raw numbers, former President Trump clearly won the second poll. However, it is important to note that in the first poll Governor Ron DeSantis gained 10% more votes among CPAC attendees over former President Trump did in the second poll since the last CPAC straw poll taken in February.