DeSantis Tops Trump in 2024 Straw Poll at Major Conservative Summit

Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) led a 2024 straw poll taken at the Western Conservative Summit, beating out other potential contenders indluding, most notably, former President Donald Trump.

The conference was held in Denver, CO over the weekend, drawing in a number of prominent conservative voices. Among the attendees surveyed for the straw poll, 71 percent supported a DeSantis presidential run in 2024, while 67 percent backed another Trump run. Attendees, however, could select more than one candidate, meaning they did not need to choose between DeSantis and Trump.

This is the second time this particular conference has given DeSantis an edge over Trump. At last year’s summit, the Florida governor received 74 percent support, edging out Trump’s 71 percent.

Trailing a distance behind the two Republicans were names like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who received 29 percent support and former Trump White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who got 18 percent. She is currently running for governor in Arkansas. Ben Carson also appeared on the list, receiving 24 percent backing.

Neither DeSantis or Trump have officially said they are running for the Republican Party presidential nomination for 2024. DeSantis, however, has seen his popularity among conservatives grow recently as he’s waged various cultural battles against Disney and “woke” teachings in schools.

Trump has meanwhile at least hinted he could be stepping back into the ring and many have been pushing him to do so. Advisor Jason Miller told NBC News in a piece suggesting Trump could be announcing a run imminently that he’s been laying out a case to the president on why he needs to run.

“I’ve laid out my case on why I think he should do it,” he said. “I think that there being clarity about what his intentions are [is important] so he can start building that operation while it’s still fresh in people’s minds and they’re still active — a lot of that can be converted into 2024 action.”