GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 28 - Vice President JD Vance was the preferred choice of attendees at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), according to the conference’s straw poll released on Saturday. Approximately 53% of those who cast ballots at the convention selected Vance.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio finished second in the CPAC tally, receiving about 35% of the vote. The outcome highlights the preferences among the event’s participants, a group drawn heavily from the Republican Party’s conservative wing.
CPAC, which staged this year’s meeting in Grapevine, Texas, serves as a major gathering point for Republican lawmakers, activists and those considering presidential bids. The conference’s annual straw poll is widely watched inside the party, though it is not necessarily a reliable indicator of who will become the eventual nominee.
Organizers and observers stress that the poll provides a snapshot of sentiment among core supporters of President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. Trump is currently serving a second term and is not eligible to run again in 2028, a fact the CPAC results implicitly acknowledge by focusing attention on other potential contenders.
While the straw poll offers a clear measure of favor among CPAC attendees this year, it does not purport to represent the broader Republican electorate. The gathering’s conservative composition means the results capture the outlook of a particular subset of party activists and voters rather than the full range of Republican primary participants.
For political observers and market participants monitoring shifts in party dynamics, the CPAC straw poll provides a timely indication of where influential conservative activists currently stand. That said, acknowledged limitations of the poll mean it should be treated as one data point among many when assessing the evolving landscape of 2028 presidential prospects.
Dateline: GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 28