The race for the 2024 Republican nomination may have already begun.
On Saturday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis beat former President Donald Trump in a straw poll taken at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.
Attendees were asked to vote for all the potential candidates they approve of out of a 31-person field. The straw poll found that 74% of participants favor DeSantis, but Trump received only 71% of votes.
While the gap between Trump and DeSantis is small, there was a large distance between them and the third-place finisher, Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz only recevied 42% of votes.
Western Conservative Summit 2021 non-partisan approval voting poll results:
— Centennial Institute (@CentennialCCU) June 20, 2021
1. Ron DeSantis - 74.12%
2. Donald Trump - 71.43%
3. Ted Cruz - 42.86%
4. Mike Pompeo - 39.35%
5. Tim Scott 35.58%
30 candidates polled. Democrats & Republicans.
Full results: https://t.co/2a7Z5gVVwU
