Trump dominates 2024 GOP presidential nomination straw poll at Turning Point USA summit
Straw poll shows young conservative voters favor Trump over DeSantis
The Turning Point USA Action Summit brought thousands of young conservatives to Florida this past weekend. A straw poll among those in attendance shows Donald Trump hammering Ron DeSantis as the preferred Republican candidate for president in 2024. Neither Trump nor DeSantis has officially declared their candidacies.
Former President Donald Trump dominated the 2024 GOP presidential nomination straw poll at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit Sunday.
TPUSA polled conference attendees—youth activists from around the country—who they would vote for in 2024 if Trump decided to launch another White House run. The straw poll was sponsored by Turning Point Action, the affiliated 501(c)(4) of TPUSA.
Among attendees, 78.7% said they would vote for Trump while 19% said they would vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In other results, 1% said they’d vote for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, 0.5% said they’d vote for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; 0.3% said they would vote for Sen. Ted Cruz, 0.3% said they’d vote for former Amb. Nikki Haley; and 0.3% said they’d vote for former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump spoke at the conference Saturday night, hinting at a 2024 run. His speech was the keynote on the second day of the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit. Trump's speech followed one Friday night by DeSantis, who's considered along with Trump one of the foremost potential GOP 2024 contenders.
Teasing his own possible 2024 run, Trump said Saturday that he won the 2016 election, falsely claimed he won the 2020 election, and said, "now we may just have to do it again."
"If I stayed home, if I announced that I was not going to run for office, the persecution of Donald Trump would immediately stop," Trump also said later in the speech. "But that's what they want me to do. And you know what? There's no chance I do that."
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"If I stayed home, if I announced that I was not going to run for office, the persecution of Donald Trump would immediately stop," Trump also said later in the speech. "But that's what they want me to do. And you know what? There's no chance I do that."
Among attendees, 30.3% said California Gov. Gavin Newsom would be the most difficult for a Republican to beat; 13.6% said former First Lady Michelle Obama; 10.5% said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; 10.3% said Sen. Bernie Sanders; 7.9% said Vice President Kamala Harris; 5.9% said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Just 4.4% of attendees said President Biden would be the most difficult for a Republican candidate to beat in 2024.
Attendees were also polled on whether they approved or disapproved of the Republican establishment in Washington D.C.— with 92.7% saying they disapprove and 7.3% saying they approve.