EXCLUSIVE — Attendees at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, overwhelmingly voted former President Donald Trump the winner of the Republican presidential primary straw poll.
The results of the poll, conducted by the Trafalgar Group, were exclusively provided to the Washington Examiner.
THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM DAY ONE OF TURNING POINT ACTION CONFERENCE
Most conference-goers preferred Trump for the nomination, with 85.7% supporting the former president. Second, was businessman Perry Johnson with 7.8%, who spoke on day two of the event. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) followed with 4.3%.
DeSantis did not attend the event in his home state. His campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said in a statement on Saturday, “Governor DeSantis spent the day with Iowans and spoke to a packed house at the Tennessee GOP Statesman Dinner later that night. This was a day after he delivered the strongest interview at the Family Leadership Summit, which Donald Trump notably skipped. Ron DeSantis is campaigning to win.”
For their second preference, half of the respondents chose Vivek Ramaswamy, who also spoke at the conference, further deviating from national polling. Twenty-one percent named Trump their second pick, and 13.5% said Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
In a statement, founder and CEO Charlie Kirk said, “The straw poll demonstrates that President Trump remains the single most dominant force among the conservative grassroots. All the attacks against him have seemingly made him even stronger and more popular among the conservative faithful.”
“What’s also clear is that Governor DeSantis’ decision not to come to this event probably hurt his showing 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 was approached multiple times by attendees telling me they were disappointed he didn’t come, and that’s evident in the poll results,” he said. “Vivek showed up and gave a great speech, and he 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. Also, the big losers in this poll are the RNC, the warmongers, and the primary debates. This event and its attendees are the pulse of the grassroots, and it’s clear there’s been a tectonic shift in the passions and priorities of base conservatives.”
Presidential candidates former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Miami Mayor 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 all invited but declined the invitation.
Thirty percent of respondents said Kari Lake should be vice president, 24% said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), and 22% said Ramaswamy.
Roughly half of the conference’s approximate 6,000 attendees were college-aged individuals between the ages of 18-21, while the other half were of varying ages. Only about half of the attendees responded to the poll.
There was measurable support for the popular Florida governor from attendees, who were disappointed that they would not hear from him on this occasion, according to a source involved with the event. The source detailed enthusiasm for DeSantis from many conference-goers, some of whom posted positive thoughts and messages of support on a large cardboard cutout of his face outside the main hall.
The poll also surveyed attendees on public policy issues, such as the war in Ukraine, which many of the speakers were vocally against.
More than 95% said they are against United States involvement in the war in Ukraine. The southern border was voted the most important issue facing America, with nearly a quarter saying so. Just under 60% said they were excited for the Republican National Committee’s primary debate next month, which Trump notably may not attend.
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Further, two-thirds said they don’t trust the RNC to get voters to the polls in 2024. A majority, 77%, 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 polling from Morning Consult shows Trump has 56% of support among potential primary voters. Behind him is DeSantis with 17%.
