ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the second time in as many years, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis topped a 2024 presidential straw poll at a conservative summit, beating out former President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports.
The Western Conservative Summit, organized by the Centennial Institute, held a straw poll in Colorado that showed DeSantis was favored by 71 percent of those polled as the next presidential candidate in 2024.
Trump followed relatively close behind at 67.7 percent.
According to Fox News, this straw poll was based on an "approval" system, which lets people vote for more than one candidate they would support. Contributor Michael McGonigle tweeted a photo of the results.
The photo shows DeSantis at the top, followed closely by Trump. The rest of the potential candidates fell far behind. Ted Cruz, who came in third, captured 28.7 percent of the vote.
The gap between DeSantis and Trump this year is slightly larger than it was in 2021, according to the Centennial Institute. A year ago, DeSantis squeaked past Trump by 3 points.
Although it's a good showing for DeSantis as a possible presidential contender, straw polls aren't a slam-dunk. Others in years past indicated Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rand Paul as winners — only one of whom, Romney, became the Republican Party nominee.
DeSantis is currently running for reelection as Florida's governor. He has previously stated he is not looking ahead to the 2024 presidential race.
Still, DeSantis has performed well in several straw polls over the last couple of years. If he didn't surpass Trump, he was usually a close second.
