Former President Donald Trump won the 2024 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, capturing 70% of the votes, Fox News reported on Sunday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second at 21% in the hypothetical poll, with no one else among the 19 potential GOP White House contenders winning more than 1% support.
"I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your incredible support," Trump said as he gave the Dallas event's keynote address minutes after the announcement of the results.
At CPAC’s straw poll in February in Orlando, Trump had won only 55% of the vote.
CPAC has long been the nation’s largest and most influential gathering of conservatives. The conference has strongly supported Trump ever since his 2016 presidential election.
In a second question asked in Dallas about who would capture the nomination if Trump was not on the ballot, DeSantis easily won with 68% of the vote.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pomepeo came in a distant second with 5%, followed by Donald Trump Jr. and Sen,. Ted Cruz at 4% and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem at 3%. No one else won more than 2%.
DeSantis, a Trump ally, has shot up in popularity among conservatives across the United States for his vehement opposition to lockdowns and coronavirus restrictions during the pandemic.
DeSantis also won the second straw poll question in Orlando, finishing with 43% support in the hypothetical nomination showdown without Trump, with Noem coming in second at 11%.
Eighty-eight percent of 1,525 CPAC attendees at the three-day Dallas event who took part in the poll said they strongly approved of the job Trump did as president, with another 10% somewhat approving.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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