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DeSantis Beats Trump In 2024 Straw Poll At Top Conservative Summit

   DailyWire.com
SURFSIDE, FLORIDA - JUNE 14: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives to speak during a press conference at the Shul of Bal Harbour on June 14, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. The governor spoke about the two bills he signed HB 529 and HB 805. HB 805 ensures that volunteer ambulance services, including Hatzalah, can operate. HB 529 requires Florida schools to hold a daily moment of silence.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images

At the Western Conservative Summit, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis was ranked above former President Donald Trump in a straw poll asking voters about their preferred candidate for the 2024 presidential race.

The poll, conducted by the Western Conservative Summit, surveyed attendants of this weekend’s 2021 Western Conservative Summit at the Centennial Institute, Colorado Christian University’s public policy think tank.

The company used an “approval method” that allowed participants to vote for multiple responses for each question, including a question about which 2024 presidential candidates they approved of from the dozens of the top contenders.

“The top five candidates, in order of most approval to least, were: Ron DeSantis (74%), Donald Trump (71%), Sen. Ted Cruz (43%), Mike Pompeo (39%) and Sen. Tim Scott (36%),” the press release stated. “Former Vice President Pence came in tenth place.”

“Question two asked attendees to mark any of 25 policy issues as most important to them,” the statement continued. “The top five most important issues were: Immigration/Border Security (82%), Election Integrity (79%), Religious Freedom (75%), Federal Budget/Deficit (74%) and Gun Rights (74%).”

The top ranked candidates that received votes included:

  1. Ron DeSantis — 74.12%
  2. Donald Trump — 71.43%
  3. Ted Cruz — 42.86%
  4. Mike Pompeo — 39.35%
  5. Tim Scott — 35.58%
  6. Kristi Noem — 29.92%
  7. Tom Cotton — 29.92%
  8. Rand Paul — 27.76%
  9. Donald Trump Jr. — 24.8%
  10. Mike Pence — 21.56%
  11. Josh Hawley — 20.22%
  12. Dan Crenshaw — 20.22%
  13. Nikki Haley — 19.14%
  14. Michelle Obama — 2.96%
  15. Elizabeth Warren — 2.96%
  16. Joe Biden — 2.43%
  17. Pete Buttigieg — 2.16%
  18. Stacey Abrams — 2.16%
  19. Amy Klobuchar — 2.16%
  20. Kamala Harris — 1.89%
  21. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — 1.89%
  22. Beto O’Rourke — 1.62%
  23. Cory Booker — 1.62%
  24. Andrew Yang — 1.35%
  25. Bernie Sanders — 1.35%
  26. Gretchen Whitmer — 1.35%
  27. John Kasich — .81%
  28. Mark Cuban — .54%
  29. Andrew Cuomo — .54%
  30. Michael Bloomberg — .27%

The top ranked issues were:

  1. Immigration/Border Security — 82.43%
  2. Election Integrity — 79.46%
  3. Religious Freedom — 74.86%
  4. Federal Budget, Debt & Deficit — 74.32%
  5. Gun Rights — 73.78%
  6. National Defense — 71.08%
  7. Energy Independence — 70.54%
  8. Education — 61.89%
  9. China/Russia — 60.81%
  10. Life/Abortion — 55.68%
  11. Media Bias — 55.68%
  12. Criminal Justice — 37.84%
  13. Transportation & Infrastructure — 35.95%
  14. Health Care — 33.78%
  15. Housing/Homelessness — 21.89%
  16. Antifa/Black Lives Matter — 20.81%
  17. Medicare/Medicaid — 19.19%
  18. Marijuana/Drug Addiction — 18.92%
  19. Police Reform — 12.43%
  20. Race and Racism — 10.81%
  21. COVID — 9.19%
  22. Environment/Climate Change — 8.65%
  23. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion — 5.68%
  24. LGBTQ — 4.86%

In a straw poll earlier this year at CPAC, Trump and DeSantis were the top two candidates. However, the poll did not allow multiple answers, so respondents were forced to choose between the two candidates.

If Trump were to run for president again, 55% of respondents said that they would vote for him, followed by 21% for DeSantis, and 4% for South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. If Trump is not on the ticket in 2024, 43% of respondents said that they would vote for DeSantis, followed by 11% for Noem.

Since that time, DeSantis has received significant attention on the national stage and has largely become the standard by which all other Republican politicians, especially those who are governors, are judged.

The CPAC poll also asked people what issues mattered to them most. Respondents were allowed to select three.

The results were:

  1. Election Integrity – 62%
  2. Constitutional Rights – 48%
  3. Immigration/Border Wall – 35%
  4. Reopening the Economy – 32%
  5. Second Amendment – 26%
  6. Taxes/Budget/Spending – 22%
  7. National Security/Foreign Policy – 20%
  8. Dignity/Pro-Life – 16%

This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.

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