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Conservative Political Action Conference

Updated: Wikipedia source

Conservative Political Action Conference

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC SEE-pak) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). The first CPAC took place in 1974. The same name and acronym has been used for conferences in other countries.

Infobox

Dates
February/March/July (dates vary)
Frequency
Annual
Locations
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland, U . (2024)
Inaugurated
1974 (1974)
Most recent
March 25–28, 2026
Organized by
American Conservative Union
Website
cpac

Tables

· Annual straw poll
1974–75
1974–75
Year
1974–75
Straw poll winner
Polling irregular?
% of votes
Gerald Ford (1976)
1976
1976
Year
1976
Straw poll winner
Ronald Reagan
% of votes
77
Second place
George Wallace
% of votes
14
1977–79
1977–79
Year
1977–79
Straw poll winner
Polling irregular?
% of votes
Ronald Reagan (1980)
1980
1980
Year
1980
Straw poll winner
Ronald Reagan
% of votes
n/a
Second place
n/a
% of votes
n/a
1981–83
1981–83
Year
1981–83
Straw poll winner
Not held (Ronald Reagan's nomination presumptive)
% of votes
Ronald Reagan (1984)
1984
1984
Year
1984
Straw poll winner
Ronald Reagan
% of votes
n/a
Second place
n/a
% of votes
n/a
1985
1985
Year
1985
Straw poll winner
Not held
% of votes
George H. W. Bush (1988)
1986
1986
Year
1986
Straw poll winner
Jack Kemp
% of votes
n/a
Second place
George H. W. Bush
% of votes
n/a
1987
1987
Year
1987
Straw poll winner
Jack Kemp
% of votes
68
Second place
Pat Buchanan
% of votes
9
1988
1988
Year
1988
Straw poll winner
Not held
1989–91
1989–91
Year
1989–91
Straw poll winner
Not held (George H. W. Bush's nomination presumptive)
% of votes
George H. W. Bush (1992)
1992
1992
Year
1992
Straw poll winner
Pat Buchanan
% of votes
?
Second place
?
% of votes
?
1993
1993
Year
1993
Straw poll winner
Jack Kemp
% of votes
n/a
Second place
n/a
% of votes
n/a
Eventual Republican nominee
Bob Dole (1996)
1994
1994
Year
1994
Straw poll winner
Not held
1995
1995
Year
1995
Straw poll winner
Phil Gramm
% of votes
40
Second place
Bob Dole
% of votes
12
1996
1996
Year
1996
Straw poll winner
Bob Dole
% of votes
26
Second place
Pat Buchanan
% of votes
24
1997
1997
Year
1997
Straw poll winner
Not held
% of votes
George W. Bush (2000)
1998
1998
Year
1998
Straw poll winner
Steve Forbes
% of votes
23
Second place
George W. Bush
% of votes
10
1999
1999
Year
1999
Straw poll winner
Gary Bauer
% of votes
28
Second place
George W. Bush
% of votes
24
2000
2000
Year
2000
Straw poll winner
George W. Bush
% of votes
42
Second place
Alan Keyes
% of votes
23
2001–04
2001–04
Year
2001–04
Straw poll winner
Not held (George W. Bush's nomination presumptive)
% of votes
George W. Bush (2004)
2005
2005
Year
2005
Straw poll winner
Rudy Giuliani
% of votes
19
Second place
Condoleezza Rice
% of votes
18
Eventual Republican nominee
John McCain (2008)
2006
2006
Year
2006
Straw poll winner
George Allen
% of votes
22
Second place
John McCain
% of votes
20
2007
2007
Year
2007
Straw poll winner
Mitt Romney
% of votes
21
Second place
Rudy Giuliani
% of votes
17
2008
2008
Year
2008
Straw poll winner
Mitt Romney
% of votes
35
Second place
John McCain
% of votes
34
2009
2009
Year
2009
Straw poll winner
Mitt Romney
% of votes
20
Second place
Bobby Jindal
% of votes
14
Eventual Republican nominee
Mitt Romney (2012)
2010
2010
Year
2010
Straw poll winner
Ron Paul
% of votes
31
Second place
Mitt Romney
% of votes
22
2011
2011
Year
2011
Straw poll winner
Ron Paul
% of votes
30
Second place
Mitt Romney
% of votes
23
2012
2012
Year
2012
Straw poll winner
Mitt Romney
% of votes
38
Second place
Rick Santorum
% of votes
31
2013
2013
Year
2013
Straw poll winner
Rand Paul
% of votes
25
Second place
Marco Rubio
% of votes
23
Eventual Republican nominee
Donald Trump (2016)
2014
2014
Year
2014
Straw poll winner
Rand Paul
% of votes
31
Second place
Ted Cruz
% of votes
11
2015
2015
Year
2015
Straw poll winner
Rand Paul
% of votes
26
Second place
Scott Walker
% of votes
21
2016
2016
Year
2016
Straw poll winner
Ted Cruz
% of votes
40
Second place
Marco Rubio
% of votes
30
2017–18
2017–18
Year
2017–18
Straw poll winner
Not held (Donald Trump's nomination presumptive)
% of votes
Donald Trump (2020)
2019
2019
Year
2019
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
82
Second place
Mitt Romney
% of votes
6
2020
2020
Year
2020
Straw poll winner
Not held (Donald Trump's nomination presumptive)
2021 (1)
2021 (1)
Year
2021 (1)
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
55
Second place
Ron DeSantis
% of votes
21
Eventual Republican nominee
Donald Trump (2024)
2021 (2)
2021 (2)
Year
2021 (2)
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
70
Second place
Ron DeSantis
% of votes
21
2022 (1)
2022 (1)
Year
2022 (1)
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
59
Second place
Ron DeSantis
% of votes
28
2022 (2)
2022 (2)
Year
2022 (2)
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
69
Second place
Ron DeSantis
% of votes
24
2023
2023
Year
2023
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
62
Second place
Ron DeSantis
% of votes
20
2024
2024
Year
2024
Straw poll winner
Donald Trump
% of votes
94
Second place
Nikki Haley
% of votes
5
2025
2025
Year
2025
Straw poll winner
JD Vance
% of votes
61
Second place
Steve Bannon
% of votes
12
Eventual Republican nominee
TBD (2028)
2026
2026
Year
2026
Straw poll winner
JD Vance
% of votes
53
Second place
Marco Rubio
% of votes
35
Year
Straw poll winner
% of votes
Second place
% of votes
Eventual Republican nominee
1974–75
Polling irregular?
Gerald Ford (1976)
1976
Ronald Reagan
77
George Wallace
14
1977–79
Polling irregular?
Ronald Reagan (1980)
1980
Ronald Reagan
n/a
n/a
n/a
1981–83
Not held (Ronald Reagan's nomination presumptive)
Ronald Reagan (1984)
1984
Ronald Reagan
n/a
n/a
n/a
1985
Not held
George H. W. Bush (1988)
1986
Jack Kemp
n/a
George H. W. Bush
n/a
1987
Jack Kemp
68
Pat Buchanan
9
1988
Not held
1989–91
Not held (George H. W. Bush's nomination presumptive)
George H. W. Bush (1992)
1992
Pat Buchanan
?
?
?
1993
Jack Kemp
n/a
n/a
n/a
Bob Dole (1996)
1994
Not held
1995
Phil Gramm
40
Bob Dole
12
1996
Bob Dole
26
Pat Buchanan
24
1997
Not held
George W. Bush (2000)
1998
Steve Forbes
23
George W. Bush
10
1999
Gary Bauer
28
George W. Bush
24
2000
George W. Bush
42
Alan Keyes
23
2001–04
Not held (George W. Bush's nomination presumptive)
George W. Bush (2004)
2005
Rudy Giuliani
19
Condoleezza Rice
18
John McCain (2008)
2006
George Allen
22
John McCain
20
2007
Mitt Romney
21
Rudy Giuliani
17
2008
Mitt Romney
35
John McCain
34
2009
Mitt Romney
20
Bobby Jindal
14
Mitt Romney (2012)
2010
Ron Paul
31
Mitt Romney
22
2011
Ron Paul
30
Mitt Romney
23
2012
Mitt Romney
38
Rick Santorum
31
2013
Rand Paul
25
Marco Rubio
23
Donald Trump (2016)
2014
Rand Paul
31
Ted Cruz
11
2015
Rand Paul
26
Scott Walker
21
2016
Ted Cruz
40
Marco Rubio
30
2017–18
Not held (Donald Trump's nomination presumptive)
Donald Trump (2020)
2019
Donald Trump
82
Mitt Romney
6
2020
Not held (Donald Trump's nomination presumptive)
2021 (1)
Donald Trump
55
Ron DeSantis
21
Donald Trump (2024)
2021 (2)
Donald Trump
70
Ron DeSantis
21
2022 (1)
Donald Trump
59
Ron DeSantis
28
2022 (2)
Donald Trump
69
Ron DeSantis
24
2023
Donald Trump
62
Ron DeSantis
20
2024
Donald Trump
94
Nikki Haley
5
2025
JD Vance
61
Steve Bannon
12
TBD (2028)
2026
JD Vance
53
Marco Rubio
35
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