Former President Donald Trump notched 62% of the closely watched straw poll at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in at 20%.
Trump has claimed the top spot in each of the previous five CPAC straw polls, which gauge the presidential preferences of conference attendees.
DeSantis, who skipped CPAC this year, has not declared a 2024 presidential run; but he's been holding nationwide events and is about to launch a book tour. He has distinguished himself as Trump's top threat for the Republican nomination.
"President Trump is still the leading candidate," Charlie Gerow, a Republican strategist and the vice chairman of CPAC, told the New York Times. "But it's a much more wide-open race than it has been in the past."
CPAC was mostly a pro-Trump event, with many attendees draped in Trump campaign attire, reports The Independent.
The appearance of Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations and a 2024 GOP challenger, even drew chants of Trump during her Friday speech at the convention, held in National Harbor, Maryland.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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