(PartiallyPolitics.com) – Former President Donald Trump was the clear leader in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s (CPAC) straw poll on Saturday. This has been widely viewed as a symbolic victory among the Republican grassroots as he aims to win the Republican primary and then the White House in 2024.
According to the poll, 62 percent of respondents expressed their support for Trump, while only 20 percent supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). While DeSantis has not yet announced his intentions for 2024 he is widely considered to be Trump’s biggest challenger in the Republican primary. All other candidates including businessman Perry Johnson, who announced his candidacy this past week did not hit the double digits.
These results are not surprising with Trump having managed to win all five CPAC straw polls, which show the former president’s support from conference attendees.
Last year, Trump won the straw poll at CPAC in Orlando, Fla., with 59 percent support, while DeSantis had 28 percent in that poll.
The CPAC has generally turned into a Trump-supporting venue which might be the reason why many potential presidential candidates chose to skip the conference. DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) all chose to not attend the event.
On Saturday evening Trump addressed the conference while former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the two other Republican candidates also delivered speeches during CPAC.
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