Political observers will be watching for the results of the 2024 presidential straw poll taken at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which opened on Thursday in Orlando, Florida.
"The presidential race is awfully important," said CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp. "The midterm elections in November are critical, and so is getting back the White House in an age where Congress does little, and presidents tend to overstep their powers and do a lot … so, I understand why people are focused on that.
"I think it’s great that we have some competition, and we have some people who are out there strutting their stuff, and that’s what CPAC’s all about. It has always been a place where people who want to lead this movement can see how well they fire up the crowd, and I’m sure that will happen again."
Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott-R-Fla., are all scheduled to speak at CPAC.
Former Democrat presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who served as a congresswoman from Hawaii, is also scheduled to make an appearance. She has blasted President Joe Biden and the administration over the Russia-Ukraine crisis and for announcing that a Black woman will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
The straw poll surveys those in attendance for their opinions on the president’s performance and for predictions on the next presidential race.
Schlapp, declining to predict who would win the straw poll, said: "My take is that Trump is like an incumbent. He is beloved by people, but people also respect great governors, leading that way is Ron DeSantis."
He added: "The presidential campaign is just far enough away where we don’t know exactly what is going to happen, and it makes for interesting speculation.
"I’m not sure this next one is going to be a wide-open contest, though. It looks likely you have somebody running who is essentially an incumbent, so that’s not really wide open.”
The conference, which usually attracts more than 18,000 people, will run through Sunday.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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