Kristi Noem and Vivek Ramaswamy are CPAC's choices for Trump's running mate
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. >> Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy tied for the top choice to be former President Donald Trump's running mate in a straw poll Saturday at a prominent gathering of conservative activists.
The straw poll at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference was the first time in years that a question about whom Republicans should pick for vice president had overshadowed one about the presidential nominee in the survey of attendees.
That was partly because
Trump won the presidential poll, as expected, in a landslide.
The last time Trump was not the top choice for the White House among CPAC attendees was in 2016, when Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas finished first.
The straw poll, which provides one measure of enthusiasm on the far right and is not intended to be predictive, was announced at the end of the four-day CPAC gathering outside Washington.
Several Republicans viewed as contenders to be Trump's running mate gave speeches at the event. They included Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida on Thursday; Noem, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York on Friday; and Kari Lake, an Arizona Senate candidate, on Saturday. Ramaswamy spoke both Friday and Saturday.
Noem and Ramaswamy each garnered 15% of the vote in the straw poll. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 but since has left the party to become an independent, was third with 9%, trailed by Stefanik and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina with 8% each.
“It feels like I'm the only one who isn't running for vice president,” said Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, who spoke at the conference. “Although — who knows what will happen?”
The attention on the vice presidential question was also notable because Trump is still fending off a challenge for the Republican presidential nomination by former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina. He has won the party's first several nominating contests.
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