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Whom do conservatives prefer to be their presidential candidate in 2024? The clear answer to that question is Donald Trump, who devastated the would-be competition in a straw poll Saturday by the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. The former president collected a whopping 69 percent of the vote at CPAC's conference in Dallas, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 24 percent.

The next race for the White House remains far down the road. It doesn’t officially begin until the conclusion of the 2022 midterm elections, which are still more than a year and a quarter away. But with President Biden and former President Trump taking a few jabs at each other while they were both headlining campaign style events this weekend, Americans were witness to a what could be considered a little taste of a potential 2024 presidential election rematch. Biden, back on the campaign trial for the first time since succeeding Trump in the White House in January, did something...

DENVER — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won Sunday’s Republican vice presidential straw poll of attendees at the Western Conservative Summit. Mr. Gingrich, who took 194 votes, for 20 percent of the 985 votes cast, was followed by Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, who spoke Saturday at the three-day conference and took 148 votes, or 15 percent. Rounding out the top five were three former Republican presidential candidates: ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas....

If you had to vote in your state primary/caucus today, knowing what you know now about the various declared and probable candidates, who would you vote for? Why? Who would you like to see as the running mate for your preferred candidate? If you could help staff your candidates cabinet and other top appointments, who would you choose? If you could recommend different congressional leaders than we have now, who would they be? And who would you like to see on the Supreme Court and why? And finally, feel free to donate to Free Republic.

The Idaho Republican Party held its annual Winter Meeting over the weekend and held a presidential candidate reception and straw poll as part of the festivities. It was great news for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who received 40 percent of the vote, followed by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) at 18 percent. Donald Trump came in third at 13 percent, while Ben Carson and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) received 11 and 8 percent, respectively. No other candidate received more than 3 percent in the Friday evening straw poll vote. The next morning, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Idaho...

It has been rewarding to join a group of dedicated S.C. grassroots conservatives. Recently a group of Horry County volunteers for Ted Cruz engaged in their first two events: the Aynor Harvest Hoedown and the Irish-Italian Festival. We proudly wore our red shirts declaring the same values as our favorite presidential candidate. National polls have indicated that billionaire TV reality star Donald Trump is still leading. However, based on straw polls, Horry County residents who participated clearly indicated they preferred Ted Cruz over all other candidates. Straw polls top 3: Aynor Harvest Hoedown: Cruz 45.5%, Trump 20.8%, Carson 18.2% Irish-Italian...

Sen. Ted Cruz won the Values Voter Summit straw poll for the third year in a row on Saturday, a strong showing of support from evangelical voters for his 2016 presidential bid. The firebrand Texas Senator won a whopping 35 percent of the poll of summit-goers, ahead of runner-up Ben Carson’s 18 percent. That margin is significantly wider than last year, where he edged out Carson by just 5 percentage points. Former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) took third with 14 percent, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) with 13 percent. Real estate magnate Donald Trump finished a distant fifth...

The results are in at the Values Voter Summit -- and, for once, Donald Trump fails to top a conservative poll. The straw poll at the summit, a conservative gathering hosted by the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., showed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz winning over voters, leading the pack for the third year in a row. Cruz, with 35 percent of support, was followed by neurosurgeon-turned-politician Ben Carson, with 18 percent of the vote. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee came in third, drawing 14 percent of supporters, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 13 percent. Play Video Why...

If you had to vote in your state primary/caucus today, knowing what you know now about the various declared and probable candidates, who would you vote for? Why? Who would you like to see as the running mate for your preferred candidate? If you could help staff your candidates cabinet and other top appointments, who would you choose? If you could recommend different congressional leaders than we have now, who would they be? And who would you like to see on the Supreme Court and why? And finally, feel free to donate to Free Republic.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Citizens United chief David Bossie says the Fox News poll released on Wednesday reinforces results his organization obtained in a survey of its own. The Fox poll shows Donald Trump in second place among 2016 Republican presidential contenders, and Bossie calls that a clear sign that “the conservative movement that makes up the Republican party voter base is desperately looking for leadership.” The stunning new Fox News poll shows Jeb Bush in the lead with the support of 15 percent of likely Republican primary voters, but Trump is right behind him in second...

If you had to vote in your state primary/caucus today, knowing what you know now about the various declared and probable candidates, who would you vote for? Why? Who would you like to see as the running mate for your preferred candidate? If you could help staff your candidates cabinet and other top appointments, who would you choose? If you could recommend different congressional leaders than we have now, who would they be? And who would you like to see on the Supreme Court and why? And finally, feel free to donate to Free Republic.

One America News Network, a credible source for 24/7 national and international news, announced today the results from its 90 day online One America News Network 2016 GOP Presidential Candidate Straw Poll. The results show strong numbers for Senator Ted Cruz, the first GOP candidate to announce, leading the pack just breaking the 30% mark at 30.4%. Senator Rand Paul comes in second with a strong 24.2% showing. Governor Scott Walker rounds out the top three with 9.6%. Rounding out the top five are Dr. Ben Carson at 6.6% and Senator Marco Rubio at 6.1% running neck and neck. Governor...

The 2016 clown car can't get much longer -- but the Republican National Committee can't be bothered.The Republican Party has a bit of mess on its hands heading into the 2016 election season. Simply put, too many Republicans want to be president. The field of declared and potential candidates is large and in flux, and this will leave the Republican National Committee with some tough choices to make when debate season starts up. How do they decide who makes the cut for debate invitations? Do they go by polling numbers and risk letting a clown like Donald Trump through while...

By Gary P Jackson. I find this truly and absolutely delicious. There have been a lot of presidential straw polls since silly season started, some going all the way back to a year ago this month. I’ve seen all kinds of results, but I’ve never seen such a blow-out victory for any candidate. The website Red State ran an interesting poll in September. They asked readers who their first choice was for the Republican nomination for President, then ask who would be second choice through fifth choice. The results for first choice: Sarah Palin 52.4% Herman Cain 21.4% Ron Paul...

The pundits busy divining the reasons Herman Cain won that Florida straw poll so handily can't be blamed—it was a compelling spectacle and a distinctly satisfying one as straw poll results go.To have listened to the candidate's prescriptions in his speech to the delegates Saturday was to see why. Everything he told the audience had been said, in one way or another, by most of the leading Republican candidates. The difference here was -- is -- Mr. Cain's unfailing capacity to speak as though from a core of fire deep inside him. An irresistible strength -- as is the mordant...

WASHINGTON — After nearly three months of public posturing and private deliberation, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is looking very much like a presidential candidate. ...Here are 10 important steps on Perry's road ahead. 1. The tea party primary ....For Perry to defeat Romney, he must emerge as the conservative alternative......... 2. The money primary By this time...Texas Gov. George W. Bush had raised more than $37 million. Perry, still a non-candidate, has raised zero..... 3. Rudy-palooza ....Perry endorsed...Rudy Giuliani... This time, Perry is counting on the moderate Yankee to reciprocate..... 4. The Iowa caucuses Iowa Republicans will be the first...

Peter Beinart says the GOP is "her party now". Robert Lane Greene at the Economist says "she has to be considered the front-runner." Jon Chait and David Frum agree. So does Paul Mirengoff. Andrew Sullivan, unsurprisingly, asks "who can beat her?" Standing athwart this tide of pessimism - for none of those cited here want Palin to be the Republican nominee - are Ross Douthat and Daniel Larison. I agree with Douthat and Larison. The case for presidential-nominee Palin rests upon the weakness of the field putatively lined up against her. (Assuming she runs herself, as I think she will.)...

Here are two more data points from the weekend to back up my argument that the 2012 Republican nomination is not Sarah Palin’s to lose. First, the Values Voter Summit straw poll, a decent gauge of sentiment among the kind of activists Palin would presumably need to rally, in which the former Alaska governor racked up just 7 percent of the vote, trailing Mike Pence (who gave a barn-burner of a speech), Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Second, a new 2012 poll from Public Policy Polling, showing Romney leading with 22 percent, followed by Huckabee at 21, Gingrich...

In a straw poll at the Olathe Republican Party's annual Picnic and Straw Poll Saturday at the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop, Tiahrt grabbed a big win in a straw poll faceoff. President -- 2012 Sarah Palin: 76 Mike Huckabee: 54 Mitt Romney: 52 Bobby Jindal: 19 Ron Paul: 9

If the Republican Party’s conservative wing had the power to choose presidential nominees, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would be the hands-down choice. For the third straight year, activists attending the Conservative Political Action Conference chose Romney, a candidate in the 2008 primaries, as their future presidential favorite in a straw poll. He won 20 percent of the straw poll vote. A relative newcomer who has been much in the news came in second: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was favored by 14 percent of the conservatives at the annual Washington gathering. Third place was a tie between Alaska Gov. Sarah...