Trump wins CPAC straw poll

By Sara Murray and Steve Contorno, CNN

Former President Donald Trump easily won an informal straw poll of conservatives Sunday, when asked who they would support in a GOP primary for president in 2024.

Among attendees as the Conservative Political Action Conference, 59% said they would vote for Trump if the 2024 Republican primary were held today.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 28% of the vote in the poll. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came in a distant third with 2% of the vote.

The straw poll, which covers conference attendees, is not a scientific survey and does not represent the larger GOP electorate.

While Trump breezed to the top of the potential Republican field, it was by a smaller margin than when CPAC conducted a similar straw poll last summer. During that informal poll in July 2021, Trump topped the GOP field with support from 70% of conference attendees, compared to 21% who selected DeSantis last year.

If Trump decides not to run in 2024, DeSantis emerged as the top pick for CPAC attendees this week.

In a Republican primary without Trump, DeSantis picked up support from 61% of CPAC attendees, followed by Pompeo and Donald Trump Jr., who each picked up 6% support.

Both Trump and DeSantis addressed the four-day conference of conservatives earlier this week. But in an indication of their increasingly fraught relationship, neither Trump nor DeSantis mentioned the other during their speeches.

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