<p>Nearly four months after he lost the 2020 election, Donald Trump was able to celebrate being a winner again Sunday, after he captured the 2024 presidential straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida finished first in a second 2024 straw poll covering a field of potential candidates that did not include Trump.</p>.<p>But in a surprise bit of downbeat news for Trump, only 68% of those at the conference said they wanted the former president to run again in 2024. Far more attendees, 95%, said they wanted the Republican Party to advance Trump’s policies and agenda than endorsed him running again, even as the mere mention of Trump’s name earned loud applause throughout the three-day gathering of activists.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/trump-returning-to-political-stage-flirts-with-2024-run-956612.html" target="_blank">Trump, returning to political stage, flirts with 2024 run</a></strong></p>.<p>The straw polls, conducted by secret ballot, reflected the views of current and former elected officials, activists, writers and others who attended the three-day conference — a group that, generally speaking, represents the far-right wing of the Republican Party and now includes a disproportionate number of Trump’s most passionate supporters.</p>.<p>The former president had thoroughly dominated the weekend gathering in Orlando — a giant golden replica of him was a top attraction for activists — and organisers of the event, better known as CPAC, put together two straw polls to gauge the next presidential field whether Trump runs or not.</p>.<p>Trump carried 55% of the vote in the straw poll he was included in. DeSantis was the only Republican to reach double digits, with 21% support, in the straw poll that included Trump. The results were presented by Jim McLaughlin, a pollster for Trump who conducted the survey for CPAC.</p>.<p>Throughout the weekend, many of the CPAC speakers, especially other potential Republican 2024 candidates, had hailed Trump and made a case for his achievements to loud ovations Friday and Saturday.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/trump-to-make-first-post-presidency-speech-at-conservative-conference-956490.html" target="_blank">Trump to make first post-presidency speech at conservative conference</a></strong></p>.<p>“Donald J. Trump ain’t going anywhere,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said Friday to thunderous applause.</p>.<p>The results were released Sunday afternoon just before Trump appeared at CPAC to make the first speech of his post-presidency.</p>.<p>The top finish for DeSantis in the straw poll without Trump is a boost to his emergence as a leading Republican for the post-Trump era. As the governor of the crucial swing state of Florida (which is also home to Trump), DeSantis has become a popular figure among science-sceptical Republicans for his resistance to Covid-related lockdowns.</p>.<p>His speech Friday captured the current post-policy phase of Republicanism. “We can sit around and have academic debates about conservative policy, we can do that,” he said. “But the question is, when the klieg lights get hot, when the left comes after you: Will you stay strong, or will you fold?”</p>.<p>DeSantis also vowed never to return to “the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear.” DeSantis, like other prospective presidential candidates, has not indicated if he indeed plans to run for the Republican nomination for the White House in 2024.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/trump-to-proclaim-himself-as-the-future-for-republicans-in-speech-956579.html" target="_blank">Trump to proclaim himself as the future for Republicans in speech</a></strong></p>.<p>He earned 43% in the straw poll without Trump, with Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota finishing second, with 11%.</p>.<p>The CPAC straw polls have not proved particularly predictive of future presidential nominees. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky won three in a row in the run-up to the 2016 primary, which he quit after a poor showing in one contest — the Iowa caucuses. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah won four CPAC straw polls (in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012) but now is a figure whose name drew boos and derision as one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics.</p>.<p>Still, the early 2021 success for DeSantis gives him a larger platform and bragging rights for a party that remains very much in search of any identity beyond fealty to Trump.</p>.<p>The straw poll result was likely discouraging for former Vice President Mike Pence, who did not attend the conference. He had served as Trump’s loyal No. 2 for four years, but his unwillingness to try to challenge or overturn the results of the 2020 election earned him Trump’s anger and, in turn, that of many in the Republican base. Pence earned 1% of the CPAC vote.</p>
<p>Nearly four months after he lost the 2020 election, Donald Trump was able to celebrate being a winner again Sunday, after he captured the 2024 presidential straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida finished first in a second 2024 straw poll covering a field of potential candidates that did not include Trump.</p>.<p>But in a surprise bit of downbeat news for Trump, only 68% of those at the conference said they wanted the former president to run again in 2024. Far more attendees, 95%, said they wanted the Republican Party to advance Trump’s policies and agenda than endorsed him running again, even as the mere mention of Trump’s name earned loud applause throughout the three-day gathering of activists.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/trump-returning-to-political-stage-flirts-with-2024-run-956612.html" target="_blank">Trump, returning to political stage, flirts with 2024 run</a></strong></p>.<p>The straw polls, conducted by secret ballot, reflected the views of current and former elected officials, activists, writers and others who attended the three-day conference — a group that, generally speaking, represents the far-right wing of the Republican Party and now includes a disproportionate number of Trump’s most passionate supporters.</p>.<p>The former president had thoroughly dominated the weekend gathering in Orlando — a giant golden replica of him was a top attraction for activists — and organisers of the event, better known as CPAC, put together two straw polls to gauge the next presidential field whether Trump runs or not.</p>.<p>Trump carried 55% of the vote in the straw poll he was included in. DeSantis was the only Republican to reach double digits, with 21% support, in the straw poll that included Trump. The results were presented by Jim McLaughlin, a pollster for Trump who conducted the survey for CPAC.</p>.<p>Throughout the weekend, many of the CPAC speakers, especially other potential Republican 2024 candidates, had hailed Trump and made a case for his achievements to loud ovations Friday and Saturday.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/trump-to-make-first-post-presidency-speech-at-conservative-conference-956490.html" target="_blank">Trump to make first post-presidency speech at conservative conference</a></strong></p>.<p>“Donald J. Trump ain’t going anywhere,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said Friday to thunderous applause.</p>.<p>The results were released Sunday afternoon just before Trump appeared at CPAC to make the first speech of his post-presidency.</p>.<p>The top finish for DeSantis in the straw poll without Trump is a boost to his emergence as a leading Republican for the post-Trump era. As the governor of the crucial swing state of Florida (which is also home to Trump), DeSantis has become a popular figure among science-sceptical Republicans for his resistance to Covid-related lockdowns.</p>.<p>His speech Friday captured the current post-policy phase of Republicanism. “We can sit around and have academic debates about conservative policy, we can do that,” he said. “But the question is, when the klieg lights get hot, when the left comes after you: Will you stay strong, or will you fold?”</p>.<p>DeSantis also vowed never to return to “the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear.” DeSantis, like other prospective presidential candidates, has not indicated if he indeed plans to run for the Republican nomination for the White House in 2024.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/trump-to-proclaim-himself-as-the-future-for-republicans-in-speech-956579.html" target="_blank">Trump to proclaim himself as the future for Republicans in speech</a></strong></p>.<p>He earned 43% in the straw poll without Trump, with Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota finishing second, with 11%.</p>.<p>The CPAC straw polls have not proved particularly predictive of future presidential nominees. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky won three in a row in the run-up to the 2016 primary, which he quit after a poor showing in one contest — the Iowa caucuses. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah won four CPAC straw polls (in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012) but now is a figure whose name drew boos and derision as one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics.</p>.<p>Still, the early 2021 success for DeSantis gives him a larger platform and bragging rights for a party that remains very much in search of any identity beyond fealty to Trump.</p>.<p>The straw poll result was likely discouraging for former Vice President Mike Pence, who did not attend the conference. He had served as Trump’s loyal No. 2 for four years, but his unwillingness to try to challenge or overturn the results of the 2020 election earned him Trump’s anger and, in turn, that of many in the Republican base. Pence earned 1% of the CPAC vote.</p>