EXCLUSIVE – Aattending the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Floridathe former president voted overwhelmingly donald trump the winner of the straw poll in the Republican presidential primaries.
The results of the survey, carried out by the Trafalgar Group, were made available exclusively to the Washington Examiner.
THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE FIRST DAY OF THE INVESTMENT POINT ACTION CONFERENCE
A majority of those attending the conference preferred Trump for the nomination, with 85.7% supporting the former president. In second place was businessman Perry Johnson with 7.8%, who spoke on the second day of the event. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) followed with 4.3%.
Lynne Sladky/AP
DeSantis did not attend the event in his home state. His campaign press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in a statement Saturday: “Governor DeSantis spent the day with Iowans and spoke to a packed house at the Tennessee Republican Statesmen Dinner later that night. This was a day after he gave the most forceful interview to the Family. Leadership Summit, which Donald Trump notably skipped. Ron DeSantis is campaigning to win.”
For their second preference, half of those polled chose Vivek Ramaswamy, who also spoke at the conference, further deviating from national polls. Twenty-one percent named Trump their second choice, and 13.5% said Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
In a statement, founder and CEO Charlie Kirk said: “The straw poll shows that President Trump remains the most dominant force among the conservative base. All the attacks against him seem to have made him even stronger and popular among the conservative faithful.”
“What’s also clear is that Governor DeSantis’ decision not to come to this event probably hurt his performance in this poll. There are a lot of people here who have a lot of respect for the governor and what he’s done in Florida, but I I was approached several times by attendees who said they were disappointed I didn’t come, and that’s evident in the survey results,” he said. “Vivek showed up and gave a great speech, and was the clear second choice favorite among our people.”
Kirk called Ramasamy’s results “remarkable” considering where he started, saying the 2024 hopeful “is running a great campaign and his message is clearly resonating with primary voters. A plus, the big losers in this poll are the RNC, warmongers, and the primary debates.This event and its attendees are the pulse of the grassroots, and it is clear that there has been a tectonic shift in the passions and priorities of conservatives basic”.
Presidential candidates former governor of Arkansas. Asa Hutchinson and the mayor of Miami Francis Suarez also spoke during the event. According to Turning Point Action, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and DeSantis were invited but declined the invitation.
30% of respondents said Kari Lake should be vice president, 24% said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and 22% said Ramaswamy.
About half of the approximately 6,000 attendees at the conference were college-aged people between the ages of 18 and 21, while the other half were of varying ages. Only half of the attendees responded to the survey.
There was measurable support for the popular Florida governor from those in attendance, who were disappointed not to hear from him this time, according to a source involved in the event. The source detailed the enthusiasm for DeSantis from many conference attendees, some of whom posted positive thoughts and messages of support on a large cardboard cutout of his face outside the main hall.
Lynne Sladky/AP
The poll also polled attendees on public policy issues, such as the war in Ukraine, to which many of the speakers were opposed.
More than 95% said they are against U.S. involvement in the war Ukraine. The southern border was voted the most important issue facing America, and nearly a quarter said so. Just under 60% said they were excited about the Republican National Committee’s main debate next month, which Trump cannot attend.
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Additionally, two-thirds said they don’t trust the RNC to get voters to the polls in 2024. A majority, 77 percent, also said they don’t plan to donate to the party. Interestingly, nearly 90% said the GOP should “embrace early voting and vote banking.”
National survey of Morning consultation shows that Trump has 56% support among likely primary voters. Behind him is DeSantis with 17%.
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