45th President Donald Trump easily won the CPAC straw poll asking attendees who they would prefer to win the 2024 Republican nomination for President with 70% of the vote. The only other potential candidate coming close to being competitive is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 21% of the vote. The overwhelming number of potential 2024 opponents received 0% of the vote.
Voters were asked “Thinking ahead, if the 2024 Republican Primary for President in your state were held today among the following candidates, for whom would you vote,” and were given a total of 19 choices including “Other.”
President Trump won with 70% of the vote. DeSantis came in a distant second with a mere 21% of the vote. Six more candidates tied at 1%, including Sen. Rand Paul, anti-Trump former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Ted Cruz, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, and Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It may be noteworthy that Cruz received only 1% in his home state.
Every other candidate – all 10 of them, plus “Other” – received 0% of the vote. It is particularly noteworthy that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has repeatedly come under fire from conservatives in his own state for failing to secure the southern border and failing to protect children from chemical castration and gender modification surgeries, received 0% of the vote.
Another noteworthy 0% potential candidate is Mike Pence, who has been branded a traitor to America First following his decision not to contest the Electoral College tallies from states with credible reports of widespread voter fraud on January 6 of this year. Since then, Pence has postured strongly for a 2024 run for President. This is down from the still-embarrassing 1% Pence garnered at the CPAC held earlier this year in Florida.
As National File reported at the time, in that poll President Trump received 55% of the vote, with DeSantis – perhaps boasting a home state advantage – received 21%. Cruz fared better in Florida than Texas, receiving 2% of the vote. Abbott also received 0% of the vote in the earlier poll.
Also among the 0% candidates are Ben Carson, Sens. Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, and anti-Trump Sen. Mitt Romney.