A straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference determined that former President Donald Trump is the GOP's presidential frontrunner for the 2024 election.
According to the poll taken in Dallas, Texas, over the weekend, about 70 percent of CPAC attendees said they would vote for Trump if the Republican Primary were held today.
The Christian Post reports that Trump spoke at CPAC Dallas and was greeted with "USA! USA!" chants. He has not publicly said if he would consider a presidential run in 2024, but he has hinted at the possibility.
"With the help of everyone here today, we will defeat the radical left, the socialists, Marxists and the critical race theorists," Trump said in his 90-minute speech. "We will secure our borders, we will stop Left-wing cancel culture, we will restore free speech and free elections and we will make America great again."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the runner-up in the poll, earning 21 percent of the vote among attendees at the conference.
In another question, attendees were asked who they would vote for if Trump was not in the race. In that poll, DeSantis led with 68 percent of the vote.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence each received 1 percent or less of the vote in the poll.
The CPAC is considered the "largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world."
At CPAC Orlando earlier this year, 55 percent of respondents said they would support Trump as the Republican nominee, 21 percent said they would support DeSantis, and 4 percent said they would support South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
DeSantis is a former congressman and U.S. Navy JAG officer. He made headlines during the pandemic for not mandating ongoing lockdown restrictions because of COVID-19.
In a poll at the Western Conservative Summit in June, DeSantis earned 74 percent of the vote when asked who they would vote for in the Republican Primary in 2024. Trump earned 71 percent of the vote.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Brandon Bell/Staff
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
