Trump Dominates In 2024 Poll Among Top Conservative Activists

In what may be the best indication of his continued popularity in the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump won the annual presidential straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend.

And it wasn’t even close.

CPAC is considered the largest gathering of top conservative activists and personalities in the country.

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Trump Gains Support

In the CPAC straw poll, 59% voted for Trump as their top choice to be the Republican standard-bearer in 2024.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 28% of the vote.

As the results of the poll were announced on Sunday, pollster Jim McLaughlin quipped, “So much for him fading.”

Trump actually gained four percentage points from last year’s CPAC straw poll. DeSantis also came in second behind Trump in the 2021 poll.

Interestingly, when those voting in the poll were given a list of candidates to chose from that did not include Trump, DeSantis was the odds-on favorite with 61% of the vote.

DeSantis has become a favorite among conservatives for his combativeness with the media and for keeping Florida free of COVID restrictions in the latter half of the pandemic.

During his CPAC speech that lasted for over an hour, Trump all but announced he was running again, saying: “We did it twice. And we’ll do it again,” and referred to wife Melania as the “future First Lady.”

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Other Straw Poll Questions

The CPAC straw poll also covered other topics such as Trump’s overall approval, Biden, and how the GOP is faring in Congress. Some other interesting results were the answers to the question of what straw poll voters thought were the biggest threats to America’s safety and national security. 

The number one answer, Joe Biden’s incompetence. The number two answer, China. CPAC attendees thoughts on Joe Biden’s incompetence may mirror those of the nation as a whole. 

A recent ABCNews/Washington post poll shows Biden’s approval number plummeting to just 37% following the Russian invasion into Ukraine. 

Further, 81% of CPAC voters consider the illegal immigration crisis to be a bigger problem than “Russian aggression,” though the latter is admittedly a very vague term.

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Issue That Is Getting Harder To Overlook

While Joe Biden’s job approval number continue to tank, there continues to be a question of whether or not he is mentally up to the job that will not go away. Even the mainstream media can no longer escape what Americans are saying.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki successfully dodged such a question on Sunday during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week.” Host George Stephanopoulos asked Psaki about another ABCNews/Washington Post poll that shows that 54% do not think Biden has the mental capacity to serve as President.

Stephanopoulos said,

“A majority in our recent poll out this morning even question the president’s mental capacity. How is he going to turn that around on Tuesday night? And how much has his State of the Union been changed by this war in Ukraine?”

Psaki promptly danced around the first question, and touted Biden’s leadership, 

“You know, George, from covering State of the Unions for some time, that it is about delivering a message to the public at a moment in time. And if you look back when President Obama gave his first State of the Union, it was during the worst financial crisis in a generation. When President Bush gave his first State of the Union, it was shortly after 9/11. Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what President Biden is doing. He’ll speak to that, but he’s also going to speak about his optimism about what’s ahead and what we all have to look forward to.”