GRAPEVINE, Texas — The annual straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference shattered the mainstream media’s narrative about sharp divisions among the activists at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center over President Trump and the Iran war.
Several media outlets last week reported a major political rift among attendees over Israel’s and President Trump’s unleashing of military strikes on Iran.
However, CPAC’s straw poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, showed that an overwhelming majority of the 1,600 respondents indicated they were largely united behind Mr. Trump.
Pollster Jim McLaughlin read a few headlines from the stage Saturday, and the audience responded with boos as the outlets’ names appeared on screen.
“Look at some of the things the media has been saying about us. OK, this is going to be really interesting. The fake news, what they’ve been telling us about us,” he said. “‘Republicans turn on Trump at CPAC: Can’t stand the guy,’” he read from a Newsweek headline.
“‘The war in Iran is driving a generational divide between MAGA men at CPAC,’” he read from a Politico headline.
A headline from The Wall Street Journal read, “Republican divide on Iran.”
A Reuters headline said, “At CPAC, a generational divide over Republican support for Israel.”
The outlets relied on comments from a handful of attendees and speakers, including Steve Bannon and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican. Mr. Bannon’s and Mr. Gaetz’s views on sending U.S. troops to Iran gave some in the media the impression that the conservative movement was fractured.
One CPAC attendee’s reaction to Mr. Gaetz’s and Mr. Bannon’s remarks was tantamount to “mom and dad fighting in the kitchen, and we’re out here, and it doesn’t matter.”
When the poll asked whether respondents approved of Mr. Trump’s use of military force in Iran to remove Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 89% approved (70% strongly approving and 19% somewhat approving), while 8% disapproved (4% somewhat disapproving and 4% strongly disapproving). Another 3% were unsure.
Mr. Trump received high marks from conservatives at the conference, with 94% agreeing that he has been “the best president in my lifetime.” Just 5% disagreed with the statement. Another 1% were unsure.
The CPAC crowd was solidly behind the U.S.-Israel alliance, with 85% saying Israel continues to be one of the most important U.S. allies. Only 11% disagreed with the importance of the U.S.-Israel alliance.
CPAC attendee Hamed Rezapour, a 39-year-old Iranian Christian missionary from Midland, Texas, said Americans should not trust the news about Iran.
“The Islamic terrorist regime is always manipulating the news, and they are killing all the time, thousands of people. But the American people — they don’t know the truth,” he told The Washington Times.
The poll asked attendees whether they thought many “supposed conservative leaders and influencers are creating unnecessary controversy and division in the MAGA movement in order to get attention and make money, which will hurt the conservative movement, President Trump” and Republicans in the midterm elections.
The question offered a not-so-veiled shot at Mr. Bannon and YouTube commentator Tucker Carlson.
An overwhelming 85% agreed with the statement; 62% strongly agreed and 26% somewhat agreed. The share of conservative activists at CPAC who disagreed with the statement was 8%; 5% somewhat disagreed and 3% strongly disagreed.
The poll revealed the conservative grassroots’ perspective on the very early shape of the 2028 Republican contest to succeed Mr. Trump as the party’s leader.
Vice President J.D. Vance was favored by a slight majority to win the Republican nomination for president in 2028. He earned support from about 53% of the CPAC crowd.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio finished second, with 35%, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, tied for third place at 2% each.
Other potential Republican contenders who each received 1% of support were Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The CPAC straw poll also tracks trends in the Republican base, and a lot can change as the White House race approaches.
Last year, the CPAC poll showed that Mr. Vance led with 61% among 1,022 CPAC attendees. In second place with 12% was Mr. Bannon, who served as a White House adviser in Mr. Trump’s first term. Mr. Rubio garnered only 3% of the vote last year.
Saturday’s straw poll results for 2028 were not a surprise, as Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio rank as the undisputed front-runners to carry on the MAGA legacy after Mr. Trump leaves the White House in 2029.
Mr. Trump did not attend CPAC this year. It was the first time in a decade that he skipped the event.
Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio are friends who served in the Senate together, and their chiefs of staff, who are also friends, worked there at the same time.
Mr. Rubio has not made any remarks or taken any actions indicating that he will run for the White House. Instead, he often boosts Mr. Vance.
“If J.D. Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Mr. Rubio told Vanity Fair last year.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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