CPAC wrap: DeSantis stalled, Ukraine opposed, and record poll vote
Paul Bedard
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There was a lot more revealed in the final-day CPAC straw poll than just former President Donald Trump’s dominance over his 2024 foes and the surprise that activists prefer Arizona’s Kari Lake to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the potential vice presidential nominee.
Pollster Jim McLaughlin told Secrets that his survey included several surprises, notably the strong opposition to further funding of the war in Ukraine, the approval of House Republican plans to challenge the Biden administration, and the attacks conservatives have faced over their views.
KARI LAKE WINS NOD FOR VICE PRESIDENT IN CPAC POLL
What’s more, with over 2,000 participating in the poll, it challenged claims by critics and Trump foes that the annual Conservative Political Action Conference was sparsely attended.
“It was the first time we had over 2K participate in the poll,” said McLaughlin. “All I know is you couldn’t get into the restaurants. My understanding is also that the fire marshal was giving them a hard time about the number of people in the place during the Trump speech.”
McLaughlin, whose firm McLaughlin & Associates has polled for Trump in the past, said the survey provided good news for the former president beyond his beating DeSantis 62%-20% among activists.
“The Never Trumpers are trying to say CPAC was too Trumpy. Well, that’s because CPAC is the premier conservative event on the planet, and Trump is the conservative movement, just like Ronald Reagan was back in the day,” he said.
“Washington, D.C. elites just don’t get it. The love affair between conservatives and President Trump continues. Why? Because he made America great, and his stuff worked. He gave us peace and prosperity, and conservatives think we need a lot more of that nowadays,” said McLaughlin.
His brother John McLaughlin, also in the family business and partner in the polling group, added, “while the Never Trumpers were trying to dismiss the event as poorly attended, Jim said they had the most ballots cast ever in this straw vote. That’s a very good sign for President Trump. Although the event was inside the Beltway, the GOP establishment thought it was better not to attend than to challenge conservatives.”
He added that Trump’s speech “was a clarion call to conservatives to take control of the Republican Party away from the D.C. GOP establishment once again. Trump’s decisive showing was a very good sign for the working taxpayers and families of America. Like the recent national polls, Trump is building momentum to win the nomination and beat Joe Biden.”
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP FIRST WITH WASHINGTON SECRETS
Other key points made by Jim McLaughlin:
“I was somewhat surprised that Trump had a 42-point lead over DeSantis and was also surprised that Kari Lake was the first choice of conservatives for VP. These findings seem to suggest that not only is Donald Trump the clear front-runner, but also that Ron DeSantis seems to have a ceiling in the presidential race.” “Many times, conservatives aren’t happy with Congress, but 67% approve of the job they are doing fighting for them against the Democrats. Only 9% said they were angry with the Republicans in Congress.” “They think the weaponization of the federal government against conservatives is a major threat. Nearly 3 of 4 said they have personally felt threatened or intimidated because of their beliefs.” “On Ukraine, 79% disapprove of the U.S. giving billions of dollars in aid and military weapons to help them fight the war against Russia, 61% strongly disapprove. That shows that Biden isn’t making a good case for U.S. involvement.” iFrame Object