What the CPAC straw poll says

WHAT THE CPAC STRAW POLL SAYS. The Conservative Political Action Conference finished up its convention this weekend in Dallas with the traditional straw poll of attendees. Vice President JD Vance emerged as the leading 2028 prospect, with 53% of the vote. Secretary of State Marco Rubio placed second with 35%. No one else had above 2%.

That was a change from the 2025 CPAC gathering, when Vance won 61% of the vote, followed by an odd lineup: Steve Bannon, with 12%; Ron DeSantis, with 7%; and Rubio and Elise Stefanik with 3% each. 

Start off by saying the CPAC straw poll is wildly unscientific. There have been allegations of various types of skullduggery in the past. But it does measure the current sentiments of the roughly 1,500 activists of many conservative stripes who attended this year’s meeting in Dallas. 

That said, the notable aspect of what happened is that last year, there was only one