From most accounts, the Former President Donald Trump is currently atop the list of potential GOP presidential candidates for 2024. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the other hand, has risen to the forefront of Republican presidential candidates in 2024, thanks in large part to his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. According to a new poll, DeSantis has a tiny lead over Trump as the chosen GOP presidential candidate in 2024.
This weekend in Denver, Colorado, was the Western Conservative Summit, which describes itself as “the largest gathering of conservatives outside of Washington, D.C.” Participants in the summit took part in a straw poll about several important topics for conservatives, including their ideal presidential candidate for 2024.
As the most popular Republican for 2024 DeSantis narrowly beat out Trump.
.According to the Daily Wire, the approval of a field of 31 potential presidential candidates for 2024 was polled among in-person attendance and online participants. With a 74.12 percent approval rating, DeSantis came out on top, followed by Trump with a 71.43 percent favorable rating, DeSantis and Trump are far and by the top two candidates, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) coming in third with only 42.86 percent approval. Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former Secretary of State, came in fourth place, while Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) rounded out the top five.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark. ), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky. ), Donald Trump Jr., and former Vice President Mike Pence, who was booed and called a “traitor” at a conservative gathering last week, came in sixth and tenth, accordingly.
Participants in the straw poll should be noted that they are free to choose as many candidates as they desired.
- Ron DeSantis — 74.12%
- Donald Trump — 71.43%
- Ted Cruz — 42.86%
- Mike Pompeo — 39.35%
- Tim Scott — 35.58%
- Kristi Noem — 29.92%
- Tom Cotton — 29.92%
- Rand Paul — 27.76%
- Donald Trump Jr. — 24.8%
- Mike Pence — 21.56%
The Western Conservative Summit’s straw poll has a bad record for predicting future Republican candidates, according to Colorado Politics:
Though it might have pegged the favorites of its right-leaning crowd, the polls have done a poor job of predicting eventual GOP nominees or general election winners. Restauranteur Herman Cain won the first presidential poll in 2011, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in 2012 and Cruz in 2013. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson topped the poll in 2014 and 2015, while in 2016 summit attendees thought Trump should tap former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as his running mate, and former district attorney George Brauchler was the runaway favorite for Colorado governor in 2017.
Trump and DeSantis received overwhelming support in a straw poll conducted during the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. Trump received 55 percent of CPAC attendees’ votes as the best contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, followed by DeSantis (21%), and Noem (4%).
When CPAC attendees were asked who they would vote for if Trump dropped out of the 2024 election, DeSantis came out on top with 43 percent of the vote, with Noem coming in second with 11 percent.
The Western Conservative Summit, hosted by Colorado Christian University’s Centennial Institute, also surveyed attendees about their main concerns. The following were the outcomes:
- Immigration/Border Security — 82.43%
- Election Integrity — 79.46%
- Religious Freedom — 74.86%
- Federal Budget, Debt & Deficit — 74.32%
- Gun Rights — 73.78%
- National Defense — 71.08%
- Energy Independence — 70.54%
- Education — 61.89%
- China/Russia — 60.81%
- Life/Abortion — 55.68%
- Media Bias — 55.68%
Sources: theblaze.com, dailywire.com, coloradopolitics.com.
